Are You Gonna Stay the Night?
by Writer's Dilemma
Summary: What happens when Emma is the one to eat the apple turnover? And what happens when her True Love is revealed to break the Curse? Swan Queen romance! Rated M for potential smut.
1. Deadly Bite

**For those who are interested, I made a playlist for this story. You can find it here: 8tracks writers-dilemma/are-you-gonna-stay-the-night**

Emma's heart was breaking at the look of hurt and dismay in her son's eyes. She had just told him that she was going to leave Storybrooke for his own good. All she had ever managed to do was turn everything upside down, and not just for herself.

Henry was the one who more often than not paid the price when it came to Emma's actions in the little hamlet. He was a boy who needed stability, not the rocky edge of the cliff that she always seemed to teeter upon.

Hot tears were spilling down her face as her body was slammed hard by the little boy launching himself against her. His arms wrapped tightly around her middle, and she could feel him positively willing her to change her mind. He needed her to stay. He needed her to see what she was: The Savior. Most importantly, he needed her to stay for him.

The 'deal' she spoke of was not a compromise; it was a prison sentence. She was condemning him to misery under the rule of the Evil Queen. He would never again know the joy he felt when he was sitting across from his mother at Granny's, drinking cinnamon hot chocolate, or whispering to each other late at night through their walkie talkies. He could never be happy without Emma.

Henry clung tightly to the woman he loved so dearly, and feeling her arms wrap around him, hearing the sobs struggling to escape from her chest broke his heart even more. He opened his eyes, trying to search for something that would get her to stay. He didn't know what he would find in Mary Margaret's little kitchen, but the unassuming-looking pastry sitting on the island counter was not one of them.

"Where did you get that?" he inquired cautiously.

"Regina gave it to me."

Henry sniffed it. "Apple!" He looked at her as though expecting her to understand exactly what he did.

"So?" the ever-doubtful sheriff stated.

"You can't eat that! It's poison!" He looked earnestly up at her.

"What?"

"Don't you see? The deal, it was all a trick to get you to eat _that_, to get rid of the Savior!" He hoped that this would be the last bit of evidence that Emma would need to start believing exactly what he had been trying to get her to far too long.

"Henry, come on. Why would she do that when I just told her I was gonna go?" She was at the end of her emotional rope, and it was getting harder and harder to play along with Henry's fantasy.

"Because as long as you're alive, you're a threat to the Curse!"

"Henry, you've gotta stop thinking like this!"

"But it's the truth!" Henry's frustration was beginning to rival that of his mother's, and this was his final chance to show her once and for all what she needed to see to open her eyes. He would never let her slip away from him. Not now, and not like this. "And you leaving, isn't gonna change that!" His voice grew louder with the intensity of his feelings. "I'll prove it to you!"

He made to snatch for the pastry, but Emma was faster. "No! This is nonsense!" she brandished it at her son. "There is no poison in here!" To her son's utter horror, she sank her teeth through the flaky crust and felt a gush of spicy apple flow into her mouth.

"See! There's no... No..." But her mouth was numb, and her limbs felt heavier than they ever have in her entire life. When she crashed soundly against the wooden floor, Emma felt no jolts of pain that would normally be slicing through her limbs. And then felt cold darkness lording over her entire being.

"NOOOOO!" Henry screamed, falling next to the Savior's motionless form. "EMMA! Wake up! Emma you have to wake up!" The boy shook her hard, rolling her onto her back. Her limbs lolled around, and no amount of screaming or jostling was going to wake her.

He shot up and ran to the phone, dialing the hospital number than Regina made him memorize in case of an emergency. He half-screamed into the receiver for an ambulance, barely containing his hysteria. The moment they confirmed their departure, he hung up and dialed Mary Margaret's cell phone.

To say that she was alarmed was a massive understatement. The woman could barely understand the shrill pleas coming from the boy, but she knew that it had to do with Emma. She set off at a run, her stomach sinking straight to the bottom of her feet.

When she arrived at her home, an ambulance was outside the building, and EMT's were carting a blonde woman on a gurney into the vehicle. Henry was flitting around, tears streaming down his face, trying to get information out of them.

Mary Margaret stopped cold in her tracks, completely out of her element. When the boy saw his teacher, he flew right into her, wrapping his arms around her. "Ms Blanchard! You're here! Emma's been poisoned!"

Everything in her brain ground to a solid stop. "_What?_"

"Regina gave her an apple turnover, and I tried to tell Emma that it was poisoned, because the Evil Queen hates her! But she wouldn't listen, and she took a bite to show me it wasn't going to hurt her and then she collapsed! And now-"

"Henry! Stop! Just stop for a moment, and breathe." The words had been flying out of his mouth at a million miles per hour, and the poor brunette was having a near impossible time keeping up. "They're going to take Emma to Doctor Whale, and he will fix her up just fine. Let's go there right now, so you can be with her when you see them cure her!" She put on a pained smile, trying her best to be strong for the child breaking apart in front of her.

He pulled the keys to his mother's bug out of his coat pocket and shoved them into his teacher's hand, determination and urgency blazing in his eyes. She nodded wordlessly to him, and they jumped into the car to follow the retreating sirens of the ambulance.

The moment they pulled up to the facility Henry flung himself out of the car before it even came to a full stop. He sped past the sign-in desks and followed the sounds of the only emergency happening there.

He slammed into the glass door to the room where his mother was being kept. The doctor was shouting orders to the swarm of nurses crowding around Emma, his face showing no confidence. He wrenched open the door.

"Mom! Mom! I'm here!"

"Henry! You can't be in here right now," Whale said, shocked at the boy's sudden appearance.

"She was poisoned, Dr Whale! You have to save her!"

"Poisoned? By what?"

"This!" He pulled the turnover from a bag in his pocket. "She took a bite of this, and then she fell down!"

"Henry, listen to me, you can't be in here right now. I can't tell if it was poison-"

"But it was! You have to listen to me!"

The doctor looked up at Mary Margaret who was now watching from a short distance. He told her with a single look that she needed to remove him from the area. She strode forward and placed gentle hands on his shoulders. She pulled ever so lightly, letting him know he had to move. He began to walk backwards toward the door, never taking his eyes off of his mother.

He watched through the glass as the medical team continued to work feverishly around the blonde. He could hear the muffled sounds of their voices, and occasionally the doctor would catch his eye, always looking defeated.

Eventually they cleared out, Emma still lying as though she were a corpse. Tubes and wires were sticking out from her chest and arms. Dr Whale looked upon her one more time before heading out of the room. He looked from Mary Margaret to Henry with uncertainty.

"Emma is stable, for now. I still don't know what is causing this-"

"I _told_ you, she's poisoned!"

"But," he continued as though he had not been interrupted. "It's difficult to say what is going to happen from here. I don't know how long she will be in this state, but we are going to do everything we can."

Mary Margaret placed her hand on his. "Thank you, Doctor."

"If I were you, I would get some rest. I will notify you if there is any change." He said the last part to Henry in specific.

"Don't tell my mom! Let Ms Blanchard know, and she'll tell me."

He looked skeptical for a moment, but the brunette nodded her consent, and he agreed before sweeping away in a cloud of tension.

"Take me to Regina," Henry said fiercely. "She has to answer for this! I have to hear it for myself!"

"Henry, maybe that's not such a good idea. You're distraught. Let's go for some hot chocolate while you can calm down a little."

"No." There was such finality in that word that Mary Margaret knew better than to fight him on it. She knew he got his stubbornness and defiance from both of his mothers. She ushered him out of the building, but not before he ran back and placed his book of fairy tales next to his mother.

The two of them pulled up next to the mayoral mansion, the brunette looking extremely uncertain. Henry looked at her for a second. "I need you to stay here, Ms Blanchard. I'm not gonna stay there any more. Not after what she did to my mom. So... Just be ready to leave when I come out."

"Henry-" But the look in his eyes stopped whatever she was going to say next. "Okay. I will be right here for you." He gave her a fleeting smile before tearing out of the car and up to the estate.

"What have you done to Emma!" Henry snarled at Regina with controlled ferocity.

"Henry! Oh thank goodness, you're safe! I was so worried about you!" She ran up to her son and tried to embrace him, but he shoved her away.

"Get off me! What did you do to my mom!"

"Whatever do you mean?" Regina posed the question with innocent curiosity.

"You poisoned her! She ate your stupid turnover! Now she's in a coma!"

Regina couldn't fight the small smirk of victory that painted her lips for the briefest of moments. Henry saw it, and the look of disgust and horror on his face told her she just made a massive mistake.

"You really are the Evil Queen, aren't you? Why did you do this?!" Henry screamed with fury.

"She was trying to take you from me! She's no mother, and she couldn't care for you! I'm protecting our family! I'm protecting _you_ as I have always done!"

"No..." His voice was soft, tinged with disbelief. "No! No! You fix it! You bring her back!"

"I can't!" Her temper was flaring rapidly. She was beyond pissed that Henry was still choosing that haphazard mess of a woman over her. After every single thing she had ever done for him, she could not understand how she had failed to earn the love of the son she held so dearly.

"You liar! I never want to see you again!" He turned around a bolted through the house and out the front door. Regina's feet remained rooted to the floor. His words felt like he had ripped her own heart from her chest and squeezed it to dust like she had done so many times before.

A sharp pain shot through her knees when they collided with the hardwood floor beneath them. It was a rare occasion that the Queen found herself crawling on the floor, mewling like an abandoned kitten, whimpering out the name of the boy that fled from her. For the first time in a very, very long time, Regina felt helpless.

"Take me to Mr Gold!" Henry's request left no room for contradiction.

Mary Margaret started up the bug. "What did your mom say? And why do we need Mr Gold?"

"She's not my mom! Emma is, and Regina practically admitted to poisoning her."

"Oh my god," the brunette breathed.

"But she's pretending she doesn't know how to wake Emma up. If there's anyone in Storybrooke who will know how, it's Mr Gold. He's the only one with enough power and knowledge rival Regina!"

Mary Margaret opened her mouth, wanting to try and convince the boy otherwise; however, when she glanced at him, the look of solid determination mingled with anger told her that it was not a good idea. Henry had already suffered so much trauma today, causing him more frustration would do him no good. She closed her mouth again, and they drove to the pawnshop in silence.

Once again, Henry insisted with deadly seriousness that his teacher remain in the car. She really did not feel comfortable leaving him alone with Mr Gold, but the man had never made any move to hurt the boy. She nodded once again, and watched him hurry into the dusty shop.

Henry's eyes scanned the crowded space for the man he needed. The soft tinkling of the doorbell over head caught the attention of the shop's owner. He limped into view, looking mildly confused at the presence of the disheveled boy hurrying toward him.

"Henry. What can I do for you," he asked evenly.

"Regina has poisoned Emma! How do I cure her?" Always straight to the point and brutally honest. Those qualities endeared him to Gold, because it reminded him of the son he himself had lost. "I know that you believe in the curse, and that you know Regina is the Evil Queen! I know who you are, and I know you're really powerful. _Please_ tell me how to make my mom better again." He stared the man down, desperation now rolling off of his small form.

"You are a smart boy, Henry." He knew the game was up. Regina had crossed the line, and there was no point in keeping the charade going. "Emma has been put under a powerful Sleeping Curse. In this world, it could be deadly." He held up a hand to stop whatever the boy was about to say. "Now, no matter how powerful the curse, it can always be broken with-"

"True Love's Kiss," Henry finished for him.

"Exactly."

"Does that mean that I should go kiss my mom?"

Gold chuckled lightly. "No, Henry. There are a few rules when it comes to True Love. If you were under that curse, it would have to be someone who truly loved you as family to break that curse. You're just a boy. Emma, on the other hand, is a grown woman. The only Love powerful enough to break it would be that of a romantic nature."

"But... Emma doesn't have a True Love."

"I would be so sure about that, Henry. Everyone has a True Love. Now, I can't tell you who that person is, but I can assure you that this curse will not kill Emma."

"How can you be sure?"

"Your mother is a very special woman. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"

Henry nodded, hope shining in his eyes once more. "I'll find her True Love. I swear it!" With that, he turned and exited the shop.


	2. Paying a Price

Regina was immensely upset the day her beloved son went missing. He never showed up at school that day, not a soul had seen him, the Mayor's boy. The sheriff's searches and questioning yielded no fruit.

The sun had begun its descent toward the horizon, and her facade of calm was beginning to slip. She was losing her temper with Graham, and paced around her estate like an agitated panther, muttering possibilities for his disappearance to herself.

It wasn't totally unlike Henry to run away. He was a boy with a great thirst for adventure. There were days when he would scamper off into the forest, vanishing for hours at a time, and then show up back at home, muddy, scratched and eyes shining with excitement.

This was different. Regina knew it; she could feel it. It alarmed her on every level, not having felt those warnings in many years. It left the hair on the back of her neck standing up on end and her skin crawling. Everything made her jump or twitch. She hated feeling this on edge.

Graham stood nearby, fidgeting uncomfortably, not knowing what to do with himself. A sudden knock came on the door. Regina tensed, then pounced. She flung the door open, her son and a strange woman standing before her. She scooped up her son, relief washing over her in a warm and welcome wave.

But Henry pushed her away, claiming he had found his real mother. He shot her a glare that she had been seeing more often than usual lately before scampering off into the mansion. The Sheriff said he would go check on the boy, leaving the two women alone.

She saw someone who looked completely out of her element. Insecurity clung to her skin, as she nervously waited for some hint as to what her next move should be. Regina, ever the courteous woman, invited the woman known as Emma Swan inside for a drink. She had to know whom she was dealing with.

She couldn't decide what to make of what she gleaned from their conversation, but it was fairly apparent that Emma was a woman with strong opinions, a drifter that didn't like many attachments, somewhat flighty but confident in her endeavors. She wanted to trust that this woman would simply disappear now that Henry was returned safely to where he belongs, but the twisting in her gut told her otherwise. So, she began to put up her walls and begin to guard that which was the most precious to her.

She was right to do so.

Emma stuck around like an irritating cold. She was still in Storybrooke the following morning, and in jail no less. To make matters worse, Henry was missing. Again. It was not exactly a banner morning for the mayor. To her displeasure, the blonde interloper offered to help find her boy. She had little choice, but followed the woman like a hawk, until the trail led to one Mary Margaret Blanchard.

Her patience was wearing thin faster than she expected, and when the teacher sassed her about her parenting and the social status of her son, her normally calm veneer dissolved. She sent some venomous words toward the hapless woman and strode away, cursing her lack of self-control the whole time.

Emma did as she said she would, and brought her beloved child home, but Regina could already see a different woman from the one she met the previous night. This Emma Swan's eyes trailed after the little boy disappearing into his house. This Emma Swan had a determination that Regina knew she could only get from the Charmings, and it alarmed her deeply.

Once again, her skin was crawling, and her senses were on high alert. However, it wasn't due to a missing child, but the mere presence of the woman she already knew to be the Savior. Emma was dangerous, and she had to do everything in her power to remove the blonde as fast as she possibly could.

But Emma maintained her presence, poisoning the mind of her child and meddling in delicate affairs that Regina had carefully tended to for several decades. She tried everything in her power to get the woman to leave town. Multiple arrests didn't seem to affect her (though after reading her file, she shouldn't have been shocked to find that out), and even preventing her from having a place to stay at Granny's didn't get her to skip town.

To Regina's disbelief, Emma simply slept in her car (probably another undesirable trait she picked up from her checkered past). Of course, Mary Margaret took in the homeless Swan. How touching, mother and daughter reunited, in a sad sort of way.

In addition to the blonde's meddlesome presence, Henry was slipping away from Regina faster than she could try to tighten her hold. He relentlessly opted to favor a woman that gave him up because she was too much of a wreck to properly care for him. This flummoxed the mayor, and she did not like to have her feathers ruffled.

The real icing on the cake in this whole scenario was that things were changing in Storybrooke. Regina had designed this town to remain static. Nothing was supposed to deviate from its intended purpose, and yet, thanks to the now Sheriff of Storybrooke, a stranger was in town, she was forced to kill Graham and Mr Gold had shown that he remembered his former existence and made no effort to hide his ability to use it against her.

The thing that perplexed Regina the most about Emma Swan was the fact that Emma never failed to rescue the mayor, no matter how undesirable the gesture was. The Savior never failed do to saving where saving was needed, and Regina despised the fact that she occasionally needed saving.

She couldn't tell what her relationship with the sheriff was. All she wanted was for her to disappear, let Regina have her Henry, have her victory and be done with it. But that was no longer an option, especially now that Henry had tied himself so tightly to Emma. There were fleeting moments when she found that the idea of going back to Storybrooke before the Savior's intrusion was no longer appealing. The blonde brought excitement with her wherever she went, and it gave Regina deep satisfaction to win when she could. She felt alive, and more like the Queen than she had in many, many years. Those thoughts terrified the brunette.

There came a moment when Regina knew that whatever semblance of control she thought she had came crashing around her. The flood gates had been opened, and it was more like acid was washing over her than water. However, she was the Queen, and she would be damned if she just stepped aside and watched everything burn. No. That was not an option.

She would win this round with Emma where she had failed with Snow White. Thanks to her vague promises to Jefferson, she was able to use the last bit of magic she had with her to retrieve the apple she used on Snow so long ago. Emma would fall to the curse, and, given the unstable nature of magic in the world she was stuck in, it would most likely kill her.

She knew her well-placed shot had landed its mark when Henry came flying through the door, all wild eyes and anger. How had Regina been so foolish to forget what her son suspected about her when enacting the plan? She tried, and failed spectacularly, to convince the boy that she had done this for him, and for their family. Yet, when he screamed that he never wanted to see her again, something broke in Regina's stony heart.

Magic always comes with a price.

Never did she imagine that the price to pay for Emma's demise would be that of her son. It had been a week since the Savior had fallen under the Sleeping Curse, and it had been a week since she had seen her beloved son.

Like his unfortunate mother and irritating grandparents, Henry had the uncanny ability to slip through her fingers like smoke. She knew that he spent most of his time at Mary Margaret's, but he was smart and kept moving, never lingering in one place for too long. No one in the town was willing to deal with the mayor on any level. They were all too shaken up and distraught over Emma's condition, plus they all secretly suspected Regina's hand in the matter.

It was supposed to be her victory. She had defeated the Savior, and all was supposed to return to her. Nothing did. The very foundations of Storybrooke had been shattered the moment Emma Swan decided to stay in town. There was no way to rebuild what she had unless she could miraculously enact a new curse. That was a desperate fantasy.

It wasn't long before she found herself in Gold's shop. Her heels clicked loudly in the close air of the dingy shop. She chose to enter at night, when she was least likely to be seen by angry eyes. Gold was standing behind the counter, looking as though he had been expecting her all along.

"I was wondering when you would show, your Majesty."

"Is that so?"

"Is everything alright, dearie? You look like you haven't slept. Guilty conscience, perhaps?"

"Enough games, Imp. Why isn't she dead?" Regina was practically leaning over the counter in her attempt to get into Gold's face. She had a point to make.

"She's the Savior, haven't you heard? You can't just _kill_ the Savior. Surely you figured that out by now." He kept his tone light and even, but never without a slight air of smugness. He loved knowing things the Queen did not.

"That much is obvious. I want to know why!" Regina slammed her palms on the counter.

"Tell me, your Majesty, who are Emma's parents?"

The mayor rolled her eyes, getting impatient with him. "Snow White and Prince Charming."

"Precisely. Our dear Miss Swan is the product of True Love." He let the last two words hang in the air. "It's the only thing that can break any curse without fail. However, as unstable as our magic is in the realm, Emma holds a shroud, if you will, of True Love around her. While the curse will keep her asleep, it can't kill her. She's protected."

"I see." Regina studied the man before her, considering her next words carefully. "What if I simply walked in there and pulled the plug on her?"

"Blunt. To the point and lacking in finesse, but I think you'll find that hard to do." She couldn't tell what the strange look on his face meant. "And Henry?"

"Ah, I'm afraid there's little to do to remedy that. All magic comes with a price, dearie."

"Why is my son that price?" Regina was growing more and more agitated. Gold's eyebrows rose, refusing to answer. He knew that she was well aware as to why it was Henry paying the curse's price. "Fine, forget I asked. You said there was little I could do, not nothing I could do. What are my options?"

"That's simple enough. Give your boy back his mother."

"I can't."

"Oh, I'm sure you can. Remember, _any_ curse can be broken with True Love's Kiss."

"Emma has no True Love, that's one of the reasons I knew cursing her would be effective."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, dearie." He smirked knowingly at her, and his gaze made her shift uncomfortably. His eyes rested on her hand.

"Wherever did the ring from your beloved Daniel disappear to?" Their eyes met, Regina's full of fear as she grasped at the bare finger. All magic comes with a price.


	3. Kisses of Disappointment

Henry sat in the stiff chair next to the to the bed his mother was lying on. She was not in any glass coffin. There was no Prince Charming to come for her. There was only the steady beat of the monitor beside her, and the drip of the IV fluids.

He was reading to her earlier, hoping that the answer would leap out from between the many pages. Their words had guided him to truth so many times, but now he just felt betrayed. He was holding her hand, stroking small circles with the pad of his thumb. Her fingers did not tighten around his, and they were uncomfortably cold.

It had been over a week, and there was not the slightest change in her condition. Despite what Mr Gold had told the boy, he kissed her, just to see. Even though he knew in his heart that it would not work, disappointment crashed over him nonetheless. Now he was just staring at her blank face, puzzling away. Mary Margaret was waiting outside, reading while she let the boy have his time with his mother.

"Mr Gold told me that only True Love's Kiss will save you. Why didn't you tell me you had a True Love? Gold told me that everyone has a True Love. If you had told me, he could be here right now, waking you up!" He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "Who is he, Emma?" He hoped that she would mutter the answer in her sleep, but her mouth stayed silent and still.

He must have asked her that question a hundred times already, and every time the result was the same. Every time, he left disappointed. He looked around the small space; it had become rather crowded with bouquets, cards, balloons and other tokens left for the Savior. They were all far too cheery for Henry's liking. His mood did not reflect their bright colors and positive sentiments in any way.

He was reluctant to leave, but he knew that she was hardly ever alone. Someone was always there, watching and waiting for the moment she woke up. This comforted Henry; not because he would be notified the moment her eyes opened, but because he knew that as long as someone was watching her, Regina couldn't come anywhere near his mother. Emma was safe.

He slouched out of the room, the brunette looking up from the pages of her book. A bleak smile crossed her lips, but vanished quickly when she saw his face. She prided herself on her ability to care for Henry in his poor emotional state, but it was taxing, and he was deteriorating with every passing day. Comforting an adult was one thing, but handling a kid was much more delicate and complicated. She glanced up at the clock.

"Hey, are you feeling hungry? It's just about lunch time. I'll take you to Granny's!" She was having a harder time motivating him to eat, but couldn't blame him either. She knew exactly how depression and loss could destroy one's appetite. "You can have anything you want. Even ice cream!" She saw his lips twitch at the mention of the treat.

"Sure." He shrugged and made to leave.

"Hey Henry! You're you doing?" Ruby was all smiles and charm for the boy, making him feel as welcomed as possible.

"Mom's not awake, Ruby." He plopped down at the counter.

"She will. Don't you worry. How could she stay like that for too long? Everyone here loves her! She can't resist that!" The waitress smiled warmly, and Henry's eyes perked up.

"Thinking of something," Mary Margaret asked, noticing the difference in his expression.

"You lived with my mom for a while, Ms Blanchard, and you guys talked a lot, right?"

"Yes, I suppose we did. Why?"

"Did you ever talk about... boys?"

The woman smiled at his question. "Sort of. I mean, we did end up talking about David quite a bit, but that's hardly-"

"I mean, did Emma ever mention having a crush on anyone?"

"What?"

"Emma can only be woken by True Love's Kiss! But I don't know who her True Love is. She never told me she was interested in anyone. Did she tell you?"

"Henry..." She wasn't overly surprised that Henry was once again resorting to fairy tale solutions to help his mother, but that didn't stop her from groaning internally.

"Did she, Ms Blanchard?"

"No, Henry, Emma never mentioned liking anyone." The crestfallen look on his face broke her heart.

"Ruby!" He looked at the woman sliding a hot chocolate in front of him. "You know everything going on around town." Her eyebrows flew upward at that remark. "Did Emma ever mention having any crushes?"

Ruby's brows rose even further. "Nope. Can't say she did. Sorry."

He sipped pensively at his drink, clearly lost in thought. Mary Margaret recognized that look. She had seen it on Emma's face many times before, and knew better than to interrupt.

"Can you take me to Archie's office?"

"Why? Did you want to talk to Dr Hopper about how you're feeling?"

"Uhh...yeah. Yeah, I need to talk to him about this. Can we go now?" His eyes were alit with mischief, and she knew he was lying; however, it was refreshing to see that glint in his eyes rather than the new, sullen look they usually had. She consented, paid and took the boy to the shrink's office.

"Hello, Henry. What can I do for you today?" The man greeted him genially with a gentle smile.

"I need to know if my mom had any crushes on anyone?"

"Well, Regina did mention in passing-"

"Wrong mom, Archie!"

"Oh! Sorry, I just..." He cleared his throat with embarrassment. "Sorry. No, Henry, I'm afraid that I don't know if Emma had any romantic interests. Why do you ask?"

Henry huffed in frustration and left. He had a lot of work to do.

Over the following days, Henry tirelessly worked on a plan to break his mother of the Sleeping Curse. Mary Margaret and Ruby helped him out of a mixture of pity, and need to keep an eye on him. He set about gathering a list of all the men in the town he knew not to already have a True Love in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry decided that, like Sleeping Beauty waiting for the kiss of her True Love, he would get 'princes' to kiss his mom. The idea grossed him out, but it was now his job to find Emma's True Love. One of them would wake her up. One of them had to, or all was lost.

He was pleased to know that Regina was keeping a very low profile. He was completely aware that she would be tracking his movements, but from a distance. She couldn't really show her face around town since everyone already thought that she was the one who tried to murder the town's beloved Sheriff.

After some careful planning, Henry and Mary Margaret were in Emma's room, standing beside her while a long line of men stood outside. Some of them were there out of pity, some because they were romantics and others just so they could say that they kissed the blonde.

David hovered nearby, keeping a close watch on the anxious men. Henry would call them in one at a time. Each candidate would approach, leave a chaste kiss on the Savior's lips and leave. After roughly the 25th guy smooched to no avail, Henry was clearly losing hope. He was waiting for that burst of pure Love, and Emma's eyes to fly open, resting on the face of her True Love.

But it didn't happen. Just about every single man in town had come and gone, and Emma was still soundly unconscious. David stepped in after the last guy left, clearly failing to rouse the woman with the prowess of his lips.

"I'm sorry, Henry," he said, eyeing Mary Margaret carefully.

"It was supposed to work. How am I supposed to find her True Love? He has to be in Storybrooke somewhere!"

"I know you said it wouldn't work, but are you sure you don't want me to try?" He glanced at the brunette, seeing her nod with consent.

"It won't make a difference. Do whatever you want." Henry stared dejectedly at his sneakers.

David walked over to the bed, gave Emma the smallest kiss and pulled away. Nothing happened. "Sorry, Henry."

"I told you it wouldn't work. You're not Mom's True Love. You belong with Snow White." With that, he left the room, the brunette following after giving a smile to the man standing across from her.

It was 2am. The lights were low, and Leroy had left Emma's side for the night. The soft glow of the screens cast deep shadows on the vacant face of the Savior. Only the hum of the machines and steady beeping of the heart monitor break the sleepy silence. The door of the little room quietly clicked shut. Regina stared down at the unconscious figure before her.


	4. Heart Race

Just a quick note to all of my readers: Thank you guys SO MUCH! I'm really glad to see all of the comments and views telling me to keep writing so I can satisfy your need for some good ol' Swan Queen fun! Please continue enjoying, and I should have a new chapter up in the next few days!

It was not the first time the mayor was in the hospital in the dead of night. This was, however, the first time she actually entered the room of the sleeping blonde. Normally she just watched through the glass, glancing frequently at the heart monitor. Something made her hand grasp the cold knob and slowly open the door, praying it wouldn't squeak.

Mahogany eyes grazed over pale skin and golden tresses. Her enemy perplexed and frustrated her to no end. It would have been so easy to just quietly turn off all of the machines, gently pull out the IVs, sit down in the chair and watch her die. Yet, Gold's words hung around her mind like a foggy veil. She wouldn't die. Regina, the Queen of the Enchanted Forest couldn't kill the nuisance child of Snow and Charming.

She huffed in irritation. Going in Ms Swan's room was a mistake, but she found she couldn't quite tear herself away. Not just yet, anyhow. She further studied the still body before her. Regina could not deny the physical power of the Savior. Her hand unconsciously rose to feel the tiny lump on her jawbone that formed after the sheriff's fist had collided soundly with her face.

But there she was, lying there like a corpse, no amount of physical strength could save her. Regina picked up Emma's arm by the wrist and let it fall heavily against the blankets. She reveled in the soft _whump_ the woman's limb made. A small smile painted her lips.

"That's right, Ms Swan, I've won. I will always win, because this is _my_ victory. Not yours. _Mine._"

The mayor went to repeat the action, but in the dim lighting she accidentally grabbed the icy fingers of her enemy. Her breath hitched when she felt how unnaturally cold her digits were. Instead of pulling her hand away, like all of her instincts were screaming at her to do, she tightened her grip a little bit more.

Suddenly, Emma's fingers noticeably twitched against the mayor's fingers, and there was an abrupt irregularity in the rhythm of the heart monitor. Regina yanked her whole arm away as though it had been burned, her eyes widening in fear. Coming to see the sheriff was definitely a bad decision on her part, a habit that Regina couldn't quite seem to escape from.

She found herself in the lounge of her large and startlingly empty mansion. She had placed herself on one of the barstools, slowly nursing a warm scotch. It seemed to be the only thing that could get her restless and irked mind to sleep lately.

Henry's absence was sorely felt, and her heart clenched knowing that her son was not upstairs snoring softly in his sleep. She found that if she didn't dwell on it too much, she could pretend that he was still slumbering away, excited for pancakes when he awoke the next morning. Every time she caught herself indulging in that fantasy, the mayor felt increasingly pathetic.

She was still having trouble cooking portions that were small enough for her. There weren't two mouths to feed, and Graham wasn't even there to fill the space. She was alone and exposed in the void surrounding her. A shiver of loss rippled through the mayor's tense body. She took another long sip of the amber liquid, the scorching burn running down her throat trying to chase the cold away. It didn't work.

Regina rolled over fitfully in her large, empty bed, not yet ready to be awake. She could feel her head aching slightly from too much scotch, and all of her limbs felt sluggish due to her late-night excursion. She groaned, rubbing her hands over her bleary eyes, trying to find a reason to actually extract herself from her blankets and get to her day.

Regina couldn't find a single one, but she was too proud to give into her childish self-loathing and apathy. It wasn't long before she found the warm embrace of a hot shower washing away some of her morning grouchiness. She did not want to go to Town Hall and address her mountain of paper work. She did not want to make a run to the liquor store because she drank the last of her only bottle of whiskey. She especially did not want to think of Henry's continued disappearance from her life.

But she had to, because she was Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke, and a proud woman. She allowed her false speech of motivation push her through the morning, but as the day dragged on, her steely resolve slipped further and further away. She pulled her hand away from yet another form that she was sluggishly slashing her signature across and flexed her achy fingers.

An image, no, a sensation blossomed in her mind as she remembered cold fingertips increasing their pressure against her own. She remembered the digital sound of Emma's own heart skipping a beat, and the way her own mirrored that action. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the notion that the sheriff's hand had responded because it was Regina's against hers. It was coincidence.

Yet, she couldn't fight the feeling that relentlessly nagging at every corner of her mind. It felt as though someone was repeatedly poking her in the back of her head, giggling and trying to get her attention. It wasn't long before the woman tired of the little games her mind was playing, and blamed it on lack of sleep.

She decided before leaving work early on grounds of illness that the only way to put this issue to rest would be to got back to Ms Swan's room and hold her hand again. Nothing would happen, and the mayor would leave feeling foolish but relieved.

Regina found herself parked outside of the liquor store, needing to restock on her only sleep aid. She breezed past the Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. The mayor had no taste for cheap alcohol, always relishing the finer things in life. After looking at the display of whiskies, she slid a bottle of Balvenie off of the shelf.

"That's a lot of scotch for one woman," came the soft, sly voice of Mr Gold.

Regina whipped around, a mask of loathing already in place. "It's not all for me, Gold."

"Really? I wasn't aware that you entertained much these days, dearie."

"That is _none_ of your business, Gold."

"My apologies, Madame Mayor. It's a shame that the sheriff hasn't awoken yet," he said with an air that one might use when discussing mild gossip. Regina's grip tightened on the bottle in her hands. "You should have seen all your boy was doing to try and find Miss Swan's True Love. It really was quite endearing."

"That's because she _does not have one_," the mayor snapped through gritted teeth.

"How long are you going to keep telling yourself that, Regina?" He slid a Cabernet Sauvignon off of one of the neighboring wine racks. He smiled at her narrowed eyes and clenched jaw. "Enjoy drinking alone tonight. Again."

With that, he turned and casually limped away, leaving the mayor seething in the spot she found herself rooted to. Her teeth ground uncomfortably hard against each other, and the scotch in her hand felt like it might explode with the raw anger roiling off of her rigid body.

Regina sat in one of her reading chairs, legs tightly crossed, tumbler in one hand and fingers drumming against the armrest in the other. She was staring almost unblinkingly at the clock innocently ticking on the wall opposite her. The hands read 1:57. Its steady rhythm was the only sound in the house, and Regina needed wait only three more minutes before she would set out to the hospital.

Normally the mayor would drive, but she could feel the whiskey blurring her senses around the edges. She would walk that night. Maybe the cold air would help set her mind right anyway. The second hand landed on the 12 as the minute hand slid jauntily up to the little tick that marked the fifty-eighth minute of the hour.

She took another sip of the beverage, counting the seconds as she watched them pass on the clock's face. _16...17...18...19...20... _Her fingers drummed a little faster. _22...23...24...25... _Her foot twitched impatiently. _27...28...29...30... _She drained her glass, wincing from the rough burn. _35...36...37...38... _Regina's eyes stung from not blinking. _40...41...42...43... _She ceased all movement as she watched the hand skip through the last two segments on the clock. _55...56...57...58...59_ The mayor stood up abruptly, abandoning the last minute she thought she would wait for. She deposited her glass in the bar sink and swung her coat around her shoulders.

Regina let the cacophony of crickets crowd her fuzzy brain, silently praising herself for wearing boots instead of her usual stilettos. The mayor was just tipsy enough that she felt ever so slightly unsteady on her feet. Heels would only make that worse.

She plodded quietly down the darkened hospital halls, her cheeks pink from the cold. The brunette was uncomfortably aware of how hard her heart was hammering, and it only got louder as she got closer to Emma's quarters. She had just entered the pale light of the waiting area outside of the tiny room when she noticed someone sitting in one of the chairs. She jumped, startled to see someone else there.

Ruby was sitting outside the room, listening to her iPod and bobbing her head to an invisible beat. Her eyes snapped up to the terrified ones of the woman that strode into the small space.

"Mayor Mills?" Shock and disbelief colored every syllable that tumbled from her red lips. She leapt up and moved in an almost animalistic fashion to stand in front of the door to the sheriff's room. She looked every bit the part of a guard dog. "What are you doing here...Mayor?" she added, trying to be respectful.

"I might ask you the same question," Regina responded shortly.

"I never sleep during the full moon. I'm keeping an eye on Emma." Ruby boldly stepped up in front of the woman before her, slightly invading her personal space. "Looks like I picked a good night to stay late. Come to finish her off, Madame Mayor?"

"You are sorely out of line."

Ruby's unnaturally sharp senses immediately caught the alcohol on the mayor's breath. "Have you been drinking?" she asked with disgust.

Regina drew herself up to her full height, whispering with deadly calm, "If you have any sense of self-preservation, you will make yourself very scarce. _Immediately_." The young woman's eyes widened, backing down like a dog with her tail between her legs. She mumbled a brief apology before scampering off, leaving Regina blissfully alone once more. She smiled at her ability to continue to instill fear in her subjects.

She let herself into the tiny room, hearing the hum of machines and beeping of the monitor once more. Emma still looked the same as the night before. Still, breathing slowly, no emotion on her normally expressive face.

Regina fidgeted with the finger that once bore the right of her late lover. Her heart was hammering in her throat, and her stomach felt like it was full of squirmy worms. Those were highly unacceptable reactions to a harmless woman lying limp in a hospital bed. She moved her hand forward, biting her lip, hovering her fingers over the sheriff's.

Regina hesitated, frustrating herself more at her own doubt and weakness. She plunged her fingers between Emma's, cringing slightly. They were still painfully cold. Why didn't the nurses tuck her hands under the covers? Wasn't it their job to care for her? Why did she even if the nurses looked after her properly or not?

She felt it again. This time, Emma's digits didn't just twitch against her own; they fully wrapped themselves up in her hand. Her heart didn't just blip once in skipped beat; her heart rate sped up for a full 20 beats. Regina counted, never parting her captured hand from the Savior's. This was a bad sign.


	5. Tired

Regina's head snapped up from her desk when the phone rang. She answered, irritation coloring her voice. This was the third time that week that she had fallen asleep at work. No matter how much coffee she consumed, she could not battle the fatigue reigning over her life at the moment.

She angrily chastised herself when she slammed the receiver back down onto its cradle. Regina gasped when she looked down at the proposal she was supposed to be reviewing to see smudges of lipstick where her mouth was resting upon the paper.

Glancing at the clock, the mayor saw that it was 2:15. She had been asleep for a solid half hour. _Shit. I can't keep doing this._ Regina stood up, deciding that maybe she just needed to splash a little cold water on her face. That ought to wake her up a bit. She scooped up her purse, knowing that she would have to redo her makeup.

The hard water collided with the brunette's face, its icy temperature pricking her cheeks and eyelids. She filled her cupped hands again, her own fingers rapidly losing their own heat when they rose to slosh the liquid all over her face again. After the third splash, she licked some of the water droplets from her lips before snatching up some paper towels.

She dabbed lightly at her now chilled skin until it was dry again. When she looked into the mirror before her, the reflection tiredly eyeing her almost startled the mayor. Her skin was pale, throwing the shadows underneath her eyes into sharp relief. The corners of Regina's mouth seemed almost slack with exhaustion, and she noticed the way her normally squared shoulders drooped in a most uncouth fashion.

Her expression soured at the way she was so easily defeated by losing a few hours of sleep every night. That was the problem. Regina inexplicably found herself in Emma Swan's hospital room every single night shortly after 2am. Sometimes she would stand there and simply stare at the Savior, and other nights, she would sit in the uncomfortable chair beside the sheriff's bed and hold her frigid hand.

Regina's heart jumped at the memories of Emma's own heart hammering every time the mayor laced her fingers with the Savior's. She felt a sinking sensation in her stomach ad shame washed through her. She was Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke and formerly the Evil Queen the lorded over the Enchanted Forest. There was no reason she should be acting like a little schoolgirl, stealing moments after classes with a first crush.

She shook her head, trying to push all the traitorous thoughts she was having to the back of her mind. The brunette tried to refocus on all of the work waiting for her on her desk. However, she knew, try as she might, that her concentration was destroyed for the day.

Regina left the bathroom and glanced at the clock upon re-entering her office. It read 2:35. Henry would be leaving school. If it had been any other time, he would be walking back to the mayoral mansion, fixing himself a snack and then sitting down to do his homework. But that time was long gone.

She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, frustration clouding her already-fatigued mind. A dull ache was beginning to throb at the back of her head, and all Regina could think about was slipping into a hot bath with a glass of wine.

But, as always, there were things that she had to do before she could let herself unwind. The mayor told herself to finish reviewing the proposal, and then she would leave early. After that, she would stop at the store for dinner ingredients. Regina was feeling something simple like stir-fry. Finally, she could wander off into oblivion for a few hours. Regina had her plan as she always did. Now, it was just a matter of following it.

The mayor was leaving the little grocery store when she caught sight of Henry chatting animatedly with Mary Margaret Blanchard in the small parking lot. The three immediately noticed each other, and the air suddenly felt thick with tension.

Regina looked at her son, a relieved smile splitting her features. She started walking over to the pair, eager to talk to her son. Mary Margaret faintly looked as though she would like to vomit, while Henry appeared scared and nervous at first, then a hard look of determination covered his features.

"Henry! Oh, Henry, thank goodness you're okay! I can't tell you how much I've worried about you!" Regina knelt down in front of the boy, not sure if she should try to embrace him. She drank in the sight of her son, having not seen him for a small eternity.

Henry was far less pleased to have run into his adoptive mother. "Who is he!" he shot at her.

Her smile faltered. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Emma's True Love! I know you cursed her, and I know the only way to wake her up is with True Love's Kiss!"

"Henry..."

"No! I know you know who he is, and you're probably keeping him somewhere where he can't get to Emma! Who is he!"

"Henry, I am not some evil witch, and I did not curse Ms Swan! Dr Whale is doing everything he can to find out what happened to her, but I can assure you that I had nothing-"

"You liar! I will find him! I _will_ save my _mom!_" He intentionally threw that last word into Regina's face, knowing how much it hurt her. He turned and ran off toward Mary Margaret's car, launching himself inside before slamming the door shut.

She turned her infuriated gaze to the woman standing before her.

"Mayor Mills... I'm, uh..."

"Save it, Ms Blanchard. I do not want to hear even a fraction of one of your pathetic excuses. But if I find out that you have been indulging _my son_ in his foolish notion that I am some sort of fairy tale villain, you will regret it." With that, she turned and left the cowed woman where she stood, rooted to the pavement.

Regina hurled the empty wine glass she was clutching at the wall. It shattered soundly, and the sharp tinkling of glass fragments striking the floor pleased the raw fury pounding through her veins. She had half a mind to take everything breakable around her and destroy it. She had no magic, there weren't any peasants to slaughter in blind rage, and she wasn't the Queen anymore.

A deep, carnal roar tore from her throat. That was the first time she had seen Henry since he stormed into her home, screaming at her for what she did to Emma. The worst part of it all was that he was entirely right about everything. Well, almost everything. She was in no way hiding Emma's True Love in some dungeon. She didn't even know who it was. Rather, she didn't know in any way she was prepared to admit.

Regina suddenly found herself missing the fights she had with the sheriff. Those she could handle. Fighting with her son, and seeing the way he looked upon her with disdain, she could not handle. Emma was easy to fight with. The woman wore everything on her sleeves, she seemed to be bound by a code of honor, and she was terrible liar.

Regina did respect the way that the sheriff stood her ground, and she was even more impressed with how Emma never failed to make eye contact with her adversaries. She even challenged Gold, when the opportunity arose. Emma usually wound up being a maelstrom of chaos, but she was firm with her beliefs, and loyal to those around her.

Regina liked the way Emma's emerald eyes bored into her own, and the sure, steady _clomp_ of her boots when the sheriff came charging into Regina's office, and the way her brow knit when she was thinking, and just how impossibly _close_ she would bring her face to Regina's when they were arguing. And... _Shit! What the hell am I thinking of?! She is the reason your life is upside down, Regina! Pull yourself together!_

Whatever was happening to her, the mayor knew it was bad. A nagging voice at the back of her mind also notified her that she had no idea how to stop it. If anything, that frightened her beyond belief. Ever since her evil wretch of a mother killed her lover right in front of her, Regina had dedicated her life to schooling her emotions. She spent many years learning how to control and quell them. The fact that these little feelings flitting about her brain could not be caught and destroyed infuriated the controlling woman.

She also knew that it would only get worse if she continued to stew about it. She needed a distraction. She set about cleaning up the mess she made, and then started to make herself dinner. She found it much easier to make smaller meals now, but it still caused her heart to involuntarily clench with grief.

After eating a very lonely supper, Regina cleaned up, poured herself a fresh glass of wine and walked slowly upstairs. She walked into the master bathroom, turning on the tap to fill the Jacuzzi with steaming hot water. She poured a few drops of lavender oil into the swirling mix before stripping out of her clothes.

The hot water was blissfully calming against her tired body while the lavender scent soothed her buzzing nerves. The wine helped her relax a little more, and after ten minutes, just soaking, a contented sigh escaped her lips. It was exactly what she needed.

Regina was in bed, reading a book to pass the time. She was feeling infinitely better than she was earlier on in the day. Her chest didn't feel so tight, and her headache had abated. She was reading some pointless fantasy book full of adventure, danger and magic, of course. It turned out to be one of her little guilty pleasures. She thought it was hilarious to read what the people in this realm thought magic would be like. She even secretly read all of Henry's _Harry Potter_ books. The notion of magic in those novels especially amused Regina.

A little beeping sound from the alarm clock on her nightstand startled her from her immersion in the book. She promptly closed it, hitting a button on the clock to stop the repetitive sound. She slipped off of the bed, taking a deep breath to calm her suddenly jumpy nerves. This trip to the hospital would be no different from any of the others; however, the fact that she was now setting alarms for herself disturbed the brunette.

Regina stared down at the blonde. She looked almost peaceful. The mayor was used to seeing a look of frustration or exhaustion on the sheriff's face. In this state, all of the furrows on her brow had smoothed out, her normally tight mouth relaxed and the bags under her eyes had disappeared entirely.

"What are you doing to me, Emma Swan?" She whispered the words, hoping that if she asked it out loud the answer would reveal itself. "Why am I pulled here every night? Why do you invade every corner of my mind? What do you want from me?"

Regina delicately set herself down in the chair, pulling Emma's hand into her own. The familiar increase in heart rate sounded from the machine nearby. The mayor sandwiched the sheriff's fingers between her palms, bleeding as much body heat as she could into those cold digits.

It became almost routine for her to warm up the woman's hands while she was there. And whenever she palmed the blonde's fingers, they twitched against her own, seeking out a more intimate connection. Regina began to crave that, and she occasionally allowed herself to think that it made her feel wanted in someway. That someone, even the cursed, unconscious form of her enemy, wanted to touch her.

She looked at Emma's face again. She had studied those blank features so intensely that she felt as though she could map them out in her sleep. Unfortunately, the blonde's face was popping up in her dreams more often than they ever have before. It used to be nightmares that she had about the Savior. She feared the day that Emma rallied the town to overthrow her... To kill her.

As of late, the nightmares about her sheriff changed to one single dream. It was always the same. The two of them stood alone in the bedchamber of her castle in the Enchanted Forest. Emma was in her usual garb, red leather jacket standing out brightly against all the dark colours that Regina preferred.

Emma's arm was extended, hand reaching out to her. She was smiling gently, in a reassuring way, silently asking for her Queen. Invisible strings tugged the Queen toward the woman who so clearly did not belong in her sleeping quarters. She felt her hand come up, moving toward the beseeching Savior, somehow knowing that she would be saved if she took that offered hand.

The Queen felt her fingertips slide against Emma's, watching them tangle together. Yet, the blonde's digits were unnaturally cold, startlingly so. They felt more like death. Her eyes snapped up to the other woman's green ones. She saw that warm, reassuring smile on the Savior's lips falter. Something wasn't right. And then, Emma's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed against the floor, still as death.

That was usually when Regina would snap out of her sleep, covered in sweat, breathing heavily. Every time she awoke, she knew that her touch caused Emma to fall. Her fingers held death. Even with that knowledge, every time she slipped into the dream, she could not stop herself from wanting to take what the blonde offered. Regina still couldn't figure out what her brain was trying to tell her.

The mayor kept her eyes focused on Emma's face, rememorizing every dip and curve of her skin. Her chocolate eyes fell on the swell of the sheriff's lips. She unconsciously licked her own, concentrating on the soft pink color the other woman's were. She imagined that they would be soft and welcoming.

Regina felt those invisible strings tugging at her again, and she found herself leaning low over Emma's face, her eyes taking in the face before her. She had never touched anything other than the blonde's fingers, but now, the brunette found her hand reaching for the woman's face.

She rested her fingertips on one pale cheek but snapped it away almost immediately. Emma's face was as cold as her hands. She moved again, cupping her palm fully against the Savior's face, cringing slightly at the woman's frigid feel. Regina could almost see the heat being pulled away from her own flesh.

Eyes fell to Emma's lips again, and she found her thumb moving to stroke them lightly. A gasp tumbled from her mouth when she felt that Emma's lips were not frozen like the rest of her. They were almost hot to the touch by comparison. The Savior's heart rate doubled its speed the moment her mouth was grazed by Regina's finger.


	6. Puzzles and Roses

Henry bounced on into the hospital, a fresh bunch of flowers clutched in his small fist. When he entered his mother's room, he noticed the wilted flowers in the tiny vase on the minute nightstand had already been replaced with a bouquet of red roses, set off by a single sunflower. They were beautiful.

He faltered, wondering who put those there. Everyone knew that little vase was just for Henry's flowers. He turned his questioning gaze to Mary Margaret, who stood near the door. "Who put these here?"

"I don't know, Henry. Maybe Dr Whale knows? Someone must have forgotten and put their flowers in." The gentle woman reached over, plucked the roses from the vessel and set them with the other gifts left for Emma. "Speaking of, we can't stay for long after you talk to the doctor. I know you have a pile of homework tonight, and I'm not going to let that slide just because I'm not Regina."

Henry shot her a withering look before sighing and plunking the flowers into the vase. "Fine, but can I start my homework at Granny's? I promise I'll do it!"

"Okay, but you _have_ to get a minimum of one of your assignments done while we're there, deal?"

"Deal!" Henry smiled widely, an expression that the woman had been falling in love with. She had no children of her own, but always dreamt about being a mother. Taking care of Henry was something she found she enjoyed greatly. He was a sweet, eccentric boy with a passion for life and love. Looking after made her feel a little bit more complete, almost as though this was something she was made to do.

Her fond thoughts were interrupted by the good doctor entering the small room. There was always quite a lot of tension between Mary Margaret and Dr Whale, not all of it fun. He gave her a somewhat less-than-chaste look-over before turning his attention to the boy before him.

"Well, Henry, I know what you're going to ask me, and, as you can see, there's not much difference in Emma's state..."

"But?" He prompted, hearing the unspoken word. "There _is_ something, isn't there?"

"Yes, but don't get too excited. I don't even know what to make of it myself. Let me show you something." He pulled out the clipboard tucked underneath his arm and flipped it to a funny-looking chart. "This is Emma's brain activity during most of the day and night. This is how it looked for the first few days after she went into the coma."

All the squiggly, jagged lines that Whale was pointing at made no sense to Henry, but he observed them as if he knew just what all of this would lead up to. The brunette could see the feigned look on the boy's face, and smiled to herself. He was so adorable when he was trying to act grown up.

"This," Whale continued, dramatically turning the page. "Is her brain activity during a very specific window just about every night now."

Henry's eyes widened. The spiky lines that the doctor had shown him before were fairly small and roughly the same size as each other. These were completely different. Some of them were huge while others stayed small, and it was clear that something was going on with the woman.

"You said it happened during a specific time, Dr Whale?" the woman asked.

"Yes. It normally starts anywhere from 2:15am to 2:30am. It continues like this, sometimes broken up, until roughly 3:30. The heightened activity stops after that, until the next night, of course. Some nights, it doesn't happen at all. But the pattern is fairly consistent. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is triggering these bursts."

"Does this mean she could be waking up?" Henry asked with excitement shining in his eyes.

"I don't know what this means, Henry. I will try to figure out what is doing this; it may help me understand what happened to her, and maybe even help me revive her." He shot a warning look at the boy hanging on to his every word. "But, I have to ask you not to get your hopes up. These are very complicated situations, and, unfortunately, we have a very limited understanding of Emma's condition. As always, I will notify you immediately if there is any significant change." He departed with a few words of farewell, leaving the two alone.

Henry grasped the blonde's hand, squeezing it tightly. The steady sound of her heart reassured him that she wasn't going to vanish on him again. "I don't know who he is, but I'm gonna find your Love, Mom. I know he's here somewhere! Maybe he left you those flowers!"

He uttered a few more promises before turning and telling his teacher to go so they could get to Granny's. Mary Margaret placed her hand on top of her friend's, fighting back the sensation that made her stomach clench uncomfortably at the way Emma's hands were always frozen. She gave it a quick squeeze before following her charge out of the door.

Henry plopped himself down at the front counter, pulling one of his notebooks out of his bag. Mary Margaret took the stool to his left, picking up a newspaper that someone had forgotten there. Ruby sidled on up to them, a big smile on her face as always.

"Hey Ruby!"

"What's up Henry? What can I get you? Hot chocolate, maybe?"

"Make that two," Mary Margaret said. The waitress winked and walked off to place their order. Henry dutifully set about working on his Math, just as he had promised the woman next to him. The brunette quietly hoped to herself that whenever she ends up having kids, that they turn out as smart, earnest and charming as Henry.

He triumphantly threw down his pencil half a hot chocolate later, proudly proclaiming his completion of his Math assignment. "I wasn't sure I would be able to figure out that last one, but I did!" A big smile painted his round face.

"I'm glad you were able to get it. I wouldn't be any good at helping you with Math! Now, onto the next assignment."

"Can't I at least take a little break?"

"Okay. I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be back in a few."

Ruby walked over as the other woman headed for the facilities. "What's new?"

"We talked to Dr Whale again today."

"Any news?"

"Yeah, actually. Something weird is going on with her brain late at night!"

"Really?" Ruby leaned forward on the counter, suddenly very interested in what he had to say. Without further prompting, Henry launched into what the doctor had shown him. He explained about the differences in Emma's brain activity, with the help of some quick drawings on a blank page in his notebook. He told her about how they only happen late at night.

"Oh! And you know the vase of flowers I keep by Emma's bed?"

"Duh! Of course I do!"

"I came by to put fresh ones in, and someone already put new flowers in."

"Really? I thought everyone knew that was your vase?"

"I did too."

"What kind of flowers were they?" Mary Margaret had come back and sat back down.

"Roses. Red, and there was a single sunflower in the middle."

"Roses, huh? How romantic!"

"Yeah, whoever left them has good taste," the teacher put in lightly.

"I think it's Emma's True Love," Henry said quite solidly. "He's probably too shy right now, but I bet he'll show himself soon. He has to..." he added quietly to himself.

"Don't worry, Henry. She'll wake up soon. Emma's a tough person. Hang in there. I have to make my rounds, you be good for Mary Margaret."

Ruby had no idea what to make of the information she got from Henry that afternoon. Being the only waitress in the only diner in the sleepy little town, Ruby was privy to all of the hot gossip floating around. Some of it was pretty heart breaking, other tidbits were downright juicy.

The best gossip that had been circulating the town was the scandal revolving around Mary Margaret and David Nolan. Everyone knew that there was something between the two of them, and they had not had a love affair like that one for as long as they could remember. Naturally, it was the talk of the town.

What really shook the town was when Kathryn went missing, supposedly murdered. Again, the scandalous couple wound up at the heart of it all, and Ruby heard everything from people swearing that they saw Ms Blanchard stalking the missing woman, to others heatedly defending the couple.

When Ruby quit her job at the diner, and ended up at the sheriff's office, volunteering her services, she _really_ got a dose of true gossip. Answering the phones for Emma gave her a front row seat the problems that the people of Storybrooke were having. Especially the domestic problems.

Diner gossip was anything anyone felt comfortable discussing in public. Working in the little police station felt somehow more intimate to the young woman. She heard the panic and weariness in the voices of the townsfolk. It was jarring.

Things changed entirely when Emma started requesting that Ruby come along with her, to help her on her investigation of Kathryn's disappearance. Not only did she discover that she had a knack for tracking, but it gave her a measurement of self-worth. She realized that she was better than the tray and dishrag she followed around all day.

That pride vanished in a sobering moment of terror when she found a box containing a human heart by the Toll Bridge. Yes, she had found a crucial piece of evidence for Emma's investigation, but she was in no way prepared for the shock of what her new job entailed. What she ended up really learning wasn't that she was better than her job at Granny's, but that she simply wasn't ready to move on from it yet. On top of that, she learned the true value of information, and the damage that both the true and the false could cause.

So when she returned to what she knew best, she was a little older and little wiser. When Henry told her about the odd late night disturbances with Emma's condition, it raised a little flag in the back of her mind.

She couldn't figure out what kept nagging at her. She only knew that that particular piece of gossip had been the most startling one for her of all. She meandered through her shift in a haze, trying to puzzle out why Henry's story made her feel uncomfortable, and like it had sounded somehow familiar.

The little bell over the door tinkled, and Ruby caught the unmistakable sound of stilettos marching in a clipped sort of manor. She looked up to see the mayor heading straight for the front counter, but her appearance made the waitress' jaw drop slightly before she composed herself.

Regina Mills looked nothing short of haggard. The normally prim, well-put together woman seemed to have taken some time off. Her always-elegant hair lacked its usual, classy curl, choosing to droop more than bounce. The mayor appeared to have foregone makeup, revealing puffy, purple bags under her eyes and pale, sallow-looking skin.

"Coffee," she said, her voice heavy with fatigue.

"Coming right up." Ruby filled a mug as far as she dared without spilling over the rim, knowing her customer needed it badly. "Here," she said placing it as carefully as possible on the counter. "It's fresh, just made the pot a few minutes ago."

"Good." Regina lifted the cup to her lips, moaning ever-so-softly when the searing liquid passed her lips.

"Are you okay, Madame Mayor? Anything you'd like to talk about?"

"There is nothing I would like to discuss with you, of all people, Miss Lucas." Despite her exhaustion, Regina's glares had lost none of their potency.

"Sorry. You just seemed tired. I thought that maybe you'd want to unload or something..."

The look the older woman fixed her with made the color drain from her face. She immediately focused on wiping down the counter, starting at the end farthest from the mayor. By the time she was nearing the other woman, Regina was almost finished with the coffee she had been sipping slowly, as if she hadn't had any for years.

Regina set the mug down, sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. That was when Ruby caught it. The moment the mayor exhaled, the waitress' unnaturally acute sense of smell caught and aroma that made the little flag in the back of her mind explode.

"_Roses...?_" she breathed to herself.

"Pardon, Miss Lucas?" Regina had heard her.

"Sorry, Mayor Mills, but are you wearing a new perfume? You smell like roses, and it's a really nice scent."

Regina looked at her as if she had gone mad. "Roses? No, I'm not wearing any new perfume, and the one I do wear does _not_ have rose in it. You must be mistaken."

"Sorry," she mumbled. Regina started digging in her purse for her wallet. "It's on the house, Mayor," Ruby blurted.

"What?"

"Er... Two-fifty."

Regina tossed the money she owed onto the counter and left without another word. Ruby saw Regina at the hospital late at night the other week. Henry said someone left roses for Emma in the vase that only _he_ was allowed to put flowers in. The only person in town who wouldn't know that would be the boy's adoptive mother.

Regina smelled like roses. There was no mistaking that fact. Ruby knew her nose never lied to her, as strange as that sounded. Not to mention how tired the mayor looked. If she was at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning every night, Ruby knew she would look as bad as the mayor did too. The pieces were coming together, but she had no idea what picture in the puzzle was. Time for a little investigation of her own.


	7. Following a Hunch

Ruby opened the diner the following morning. She did not get very much sleep the night before. Her mind was buzzing with reasons, conspiracy theories more like, pertaining to what she discovered regarding the mayor and Emma Swan.

It started out with her trying to convince herself that it was all coincidence. Regina was the mayor; therefore, many duties fell to her. Of course she was tired. Running a town couldn't be easy. Not to mention, lots of women smell like roses. It was a popular, feminine scent.

Then again, Regina never smelled like roses. Never. She usually smelled more like apples due to the ungodly amount of those things she ate. Ruby wasn't particularly close to the older woman, but she had never seen her look _that_ run down. Regina was always collected and always sharp. The woman she saw the day before, didn't even come close.

Then the crazy ideas started. Maybe she took flowers to Emma because she felt bad for the woman? Feeling bad for someone would imply the ability to pity. Regina did not pity a single living soul on the planet.

Perhaps the gesture was meant to try and win back Henry? Maybe, if she showed that she had some small measure of compassion within her, especially for the boy's birthmother, he would forgive her? Well, that sounded a little more likely, but why give the flowers in secret then? If she wanted Henry to know, she would have made a public display of it.

What if those flowers were meant to be some kind of parting gift? The juiciest gossip flying around the town was that it was Regina who had somehow managed to poison the sheriff, but it didn't kill her like she intended. Perhaps this was some morbid thing that the secretive mayor did. What if she was plotting to finish off the woman the whole town knew she hated so much? It might explain her visits in the dead of night.

Then the craziest thing Ruby had yet to come up with crossed her mind: Could Regina be Emma's True Love? Henry wouldn't stop babbling about needing a kiss to wake his mother. How could she be? They hated each other, didn't they? Yet, it wasn't _that_ uncommon for love to start out as hatred and loathing. It would explain the flowers, and why Regina smelled like them. It would also explain the reasons for her visiting only in the very early hours of the morning. Knowing the mayor, Ruby suspected the brunette wouldn't want anyone knowing of her affections, especially for the sheriff.

Ruby burst out laughing to herself. Regina _in love_ with Emma? Not likely! The mayor couldn't even stand the sight of Emma and her unmistakable red jacket. Every word they exchanged dripped with hatred topped with venom. There was no love, no tenderness, and definitely no room for any of that to grow. The only things they had in common were Henry and their mutual dislike for each other.

But Ruby was Ruby. She couldn't help her curiosity, and she couldn't stand leaving it un-sated. So when Henry walked in early that morning before the start of school with Mary Margaret in tow, she acted on her instincts.

"Henry! Why don't you come and sit at the counter here!" She patted a spot in front of one of the stools, smiling widely at the boy.

"I see someone's awake," Mary Margaret yawned.

"Coffee?" The woman nodded a 'yes.' "Oh, Henry, I've got something that I want to talk to you about."

"Really? What is it?"

"Well," she said sliding a hot cup of joe in front of the teacher. "It's kind of a secret," she said with as much mystery as possible. She also turned her eyes to the other woman, trying to convey a message.

"Ruby..." Mary Margaret said with warning.

"Don't worry, it's nothing inappropriate."

"I guess I'll go fix my hair then," she responded, plucking the coffee off of the counter to go to the bathroom with her.

"What was that all about?" Henry eyed her curiously.

"Okay, so you know all that stuff you told me that Dr Whale told you yesterday?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I've come up with some theories. But," she said, trying to hold back his excitement. "I don't have anything solid yet. So, I'm not going to tell you until I have some more proof, 'kay?"

"Can't you give me a clue?"

"It might have something to do with your mom's True Love."

The boy's whole face lit up like all of Christmas in one glowing expression. "Seriously?! Do you know who he is! Now you've _got_ to tell me more!"

"No, I don't. I don't really know who it is. I've got more digging to do."

"You'll tell me when you find out more, right?"

"Duh!"

"Oh! Can we give it a code name? Like Operation Love?"

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Nah, too obvious anyway."

"Operation Kiss?"

"Nah, still too obvious. Oh! I know! How about Operation Brush?"

Henry looked at her like she went crazy. "Operation Brush? Why Brush?"

"Well, 'cause a brush is kinda like a light kiss, like a peck. But the word is innocent enough that others won't be able to figure out what we're up to." She winked at him.

"Hey, that's pretty good. Okay, Operation Brush it is. I'm going to get Ms Blanchard."

Ruby sauntered on into Moe French's flower shop. It was cute little place, but the assault on the girl's sensitive nose threatened to give her an instant headache. The florist looked up from a binder he was leafing through.

"Afternoon, Ruby. Can I help you?"

"I hope so. I'd like to ask you about some flowers you might have sold recently?"

He slumped a little, looking slightly exasperated. "Look, I'm sorry that not every single bloom is completely fresh! I can't personally inspect all of 'em. If you're looking for a refund-"

"I'm not," she said simply.

"Oh...My apologies, I just uh... Anyway, how can I help you?"

"Did someone buy a bouquet of red roses with one sunflower in the center?"

"Can't say that I have. And I've had no requests for anything like that either. Someone place an order that didn't get through?"

"Nah. That's all that I needed. Have a good day!"

If it was Regina, she wouldn't have left a trail that easy to follow. The mayor did have a decent talent with plants. She probably cut those flowers from her own garden. The silly thought of looking through to see if she could find freshly-severed stems filtered through her brain. _That_ was the worst idea she had all day. Trespassing, especially on the mayor's property, wouldn't be a very good plan at all. Maybe she could have Henry do it? That would give away too much.

Time to have a look at those flowers herself. She immediately set out for the hospital. When she arrived in the small waiting area outside of Emma's tiny room, she saw David sitting in the chair, puzzling over the newspaper crossword. He looked up at her approach and smiled.

"David. I thought you were working at the animal shelter?"

"I have the afternoon off."

"Keeping our sheriff company then?"

"It would seem so. Mary Margaret says that Henry doesn't want her left alone. I'm just doing my part, for him."

"Uh-huh, suuure you are," she teased, knowing that he was really doing it for the teacher he was so fond of. "Listen, can I have a moment with Emma? Like, total privacy?"

"Sure, no problem." He stood up and walked away. He was always so kind and obliging.

Ruby entered the space, walking over to the blonde first. "Look, I don't know what's going on right now, but for Henry's sake, I'm going to figure it out, Em. I promise." She set her hand on top of the sheriff's, but withdrew it quickly. She forgot just how cold it was, and it made her skin crawl.

Coming back to her task at hand, she walked over to the table with all of the cards, gifts and bouquets. It took zero time to locate the one she was seeking. Though smaller than all the other pieces, it stood out. Mary Margaret was right; whoever picked out that ensemble _did_ have good taste. Someone like Regina? The woman who always looked sharp and had a house decorated so perfectly that it would make Martha Stewart cry.

She stuck her nose in the blooms. It was definitely the same smell as what clung to the mayor. She found that not all roses carried the same scent, and this one was unusually strong. She ran her nose along the length of the stems, hoping to catch a hint of perfume that might have stayed behind. Nothing.

So, the flowers were kind of a bust. Ruby had one more plan in mind. She was going to see if anyone came by late that night. However, this time, was wasn't going to be caught in the waiting area. This time, Ruby was going to wait in the back corner of the room, like a wolf stalking its prey.

She felt absolutely ridiculous. She had dressed herself all in black to 'look more stealthy.' She looked more like a robber than a ninja. Things like that never stopped her, though. She crept into the room at about 1:30 in the morning.

Why was she sneaking? No one was there. Maybe it was the ridiculous outfit in combination with her plan that made her feel more like she was in a bad movie. Acting like she was a super-spy of some kind helped keep her already-tired mind active. She hid in the corner, sliding her back down the wall until she hit the floor. No point in standing the whole time. Dr Whale said these weird blips in Emma's brain didn't usually start until 2:30 anyway.

She sat, and waited. The lights were dim, and the steady beat of the heart monitor became oddly soothing. Ruby had been standing all day, and sleuthing was hard work. Her brain was tired from milling around all those theories and not getting enough sleep the night before. Her eyelids felt an awful lot like lead. The dark was like a warm, soothing blanket, and it became a little too irresistible.

A soft clicking tugged at the edge of her consciousness. Then, the delicate, rhythmic tapping of heels that she knew very well was invading her dream about racing through the woods. Her butt ached and it felt like her foot had fallen asleep. Ruby's eyes snapped open, remembering where she was and why she was there.

Her vision adjusted to the dim light, and she saw a figure standing over Emma. It was a figure that Ruby would know anywhere. The woman was thin, taller than she appeared thanks to her stilettos, and the short, mussed locks of hair framed her head. The velvety, yet spicy aroma of apples flowed throughout the stuffy hospital air.

Regina Mills was standing beside Emma's bed. Ruby remained completely still, ignoring the protests of her sore, cold rear. Revealing her presence right away would do no good. She needed to see what the mayor was up to.

The older woman stood there, almost like statue and stared down at the blonde below her. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She stood, gazing for what felt like an eternity. Then, as though someone had flipped a switch, the mayor set down her purse and lowered herself into the chair next to the bed. Ruby held her breath, waiting so see what would follow.

Regina slowly, tenderly picked up Emma's hands and placed it between her own, wincing at the cold. And then Ruby heard it. The steady beating of Emma's heart jumped, almost doubling in speed. Her eyes widened. What did that even mean? She chose to remain hidden.

Regina rose from her chair after holding the sheriff's hand for a long time. When she let go, the blonde's heart rate slowed again. The waitress expected the other woman to move to the opposite side of the bed and give the same treatment to Emma's neglected hand, but that's not what happened.

Regina's delicate hand rose to cup Emma's face. What Ruby saw next shocked her more than she this whole scenario did already. A thin thumb moved to run over the sheriff's lips, as one would do to a lover. The moment her finger came in contact with those lips, the other woman's heart monitor started pulsing even faster than before. Ruby couldn't stop the very audible gasp that tumbled from her own mouth.


	8. Caught!

Something was poking Regina hard in the brain. She groaned, trying to block it out, but the incessant disturbance was getting louder. She grumbled again, pulling the sheets up around her shoulders. _Beep beep beep... Beep beep beep!_ She flung her arm out, slapping the top of the clock and missing the snooze button. She cursed, fumbled and pressed the damned thing.

Was it 2 already? It felt like she had only just climbed into bed a few minutes ago. The temptation to snuggle further into her giant, warm, soft comforter and actually sleeping through the night made a strong case in her mind. But as her first thought of Emma swam through her foggy brain, she became terribly aware of how empty her bed was.

It was too quiet, and her restless brain buzzed into life. She cursed at her inability to switch off. Conceding her defeat, she threw the covers off of her, the chilly air pressing in on her thin satin nightgown. Shivering, she set about reading herself, throwing on some slacks and a plain button-down shirt. She only tamed her hair, not bothering with makeup, considering the state of her company.

The air outside was even chillier. Why the Curse put them in Maine, she had no idea, but the misty breath swirling from her lips constantly reminded her of the cold sting beginning to touch her cheeks. She was used to walking to the hospital, trying to shake her weariness, but the brunette wished that she had taken her car that night.

She used to pause outside of the building, trying to rationalize her ridiculous behavior. The mayor had done this trip so many times, that there was no hesitancy she. She was cold and wanted to see her little spot of sunshine. Did she just think that? Too chilly to bother kicking herself for that bit of foolishness, she strode on into the warmer confines of the hospital.

The brunette had also abandoned her pause outside of Emma's room. She let herself in without thinking, moving to stand close to the bed. She wanted to grab the Savior's hand immediately, but she herself was still shaking off the night chill, and it was her job to warm Emma's hands. So she stood, drinking in the almost peaceful look of the other woman. She found herself feeling slightly envious.

Once Regina felt properly warmed, she set down the purse dangling off of her arm and sank into the chair. She reached out, lifting the motionless hand between her own, wincing at the cold that still blanketed the blonde like Death in waiting.

She heard the familiar increase in tempo from the machine nearby, and her heart did its own little flutter at the way those cold fingers feebly grasped at her own. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She rubbed her palms in large, slow circles, restoring circulation to Emma's digits. Once their temperature matched her own, she felt their mingled heat pulling all of her stress from her. The mayor sighed contentedly.

She looked at the Savior's vacant face, feeling oddly too far away from it. She stood, leaning low over the still body. If there was one thing she missed about Emma, it was her eyes. Her emerald pools always sparkled with mischief, or flashed dangerously at Regina's latest threat. They betrayed the blonde's emotions at every turn, and it made her so easy for the mayor to read.

She brought her hand up to cup the pale cheek, trying to bleed some her warmth into it. Her dark eyes fell to silent, unparted lips, desiring to steal some of their heat that she knew was roiling beneath the delicate flesh. She skated her thumb across them, hearing Emma's heart begin to gallop inside her chest.

Regina was about to reach for some lip balm in her purse, noticing how chapped Emma's were from neglect, when a distinct sound from the darkened corner of the room reached her ears. It could only have been the sound of a gasp.

Regina's temper rose like a dragon, banishing any of the relaxation she had found moments ago. She wheeled around, eyes blazing, to seek out the owner of the gasp. She saw a dark figure lurking on the floor, clearly seeking an escape that wasn't there.

Too angry for words, the Queen charged over to the fool spying on her, grabbed the person by the front of their shirt and hoisted them up off of the floor. Her eyes found the panicked ones of none other than Ruby Lucas. The urge to rip the bitch's heart out gripped her so ferociously, that Regina forcefully threw the girl into the wall.

"Do you have a death wish?" Her voice was like frozen acid, lashing out at the foolish girl.

"M-Mayor Mills! I uh..."

"Explain yourself. _Immediately._" Her voice remained calm, an effect she knew to be far more unnerving than screams and shouts.

"R-Roses... Dr Whale said... You were tired... I just followed..." The girl was making no sense

"What the hell are you talking about, girl?"

Ruby's eyes darted around, and she looked to be on the verge of collapsing. That made Regina happy. "Henry told me what Dr Whale said. He told him Emma had increased brain activity late at night. Someone left roses in the vase that's for Henry's use only, and you smelled like roses!" Curse that bloody wolf, and how the hell did those extra-sharp senses of hers transfer to this world? "You were tired. I put some pieces together, and followed the trail. Mayor Mills, _I am so sorry!_"

"Does Henry know?"

"What?"

"Henry, does he know I've been coming here." There was no point in pretending now. The cat had leapt from the bag, and all Regina could do was try to fix the new problem in front of her.

"Not that I know of. He's still looking for Emma's True Love or something. He thinks that's who left the flowers. No offense, but you don't leap to his mind as his birth mother's True Love. Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she added after the look that the older woman shot her.

"Is this going to be a problem?"

"What?"

"Clean your ears, you twit. Is this going to be a problem? Do I have to be worried about you and your loose lips?"

Ruby had regained enough of her footing to look offended at the insult flung her way, but told the woman towering over her that she wouldn't be an issue.

"Good. You will speak of this to no one. Not your grandmother. Not your patrons. And _especially_ not my son." Regina stepped aside to allow the asinine girl to flee, as she so desperately wanted to. Once the sound of the door clicking shut crashed through the room, the mayor wrapped her arms around her middle, almost doubling over from shock.

That did not just happen. Of all people to catch her in Emma's room, touching those lips, it had to be moronic waitress that couldn't keep her mouth (or legs) shut. She was officially screwed. Taking deep, raspy breaths, Regina slowly regained her composure.

She _did_ just scare the wits out of that stupid wolf. If she was lucky, Ruby would actually keep her mouth shut. She was actually kind of fortunate that the girl was so easily intimidated by her rank and overall presence. If it had been Gold lurking in the shadows... Regina shuddered at the thought. She would just have to lay low for a little while.

She was about to leave when something stopped her. She turned to the motionless woman in the bed behind her. Her feet carried her to Emma's side, once again stopping to drink in the eerily-serene Savior before her. Without thinking, Regina's hand came out to stroke down the other woman's cold cheek. Something in her chest clenched at the sound of Emma's elevated heart rate that she was going to miss so much.

"I have to stay away for a few days. I'm sorry that I won't be there to warm your hands. I am...sorry, Emma. For everything. I just wanted to keep my son. I want to be better for him, but I guess it's my job to let him down." There was a long pause. "I will come back to you. I won't leave you, not like your parents. Not this time."

What surprised the brunette more than that speech already did was when she bent over, placing a gentle kiss to the blonde's forehead. The monitor's beeping went suddenly erratic before settling into its usual tempo.

"Goodnight...Emma." she whispered tenderly into her ear.


	9. He Said Mom

**Sorry for the delay for this next update. It's been crazy, and I didn't even know what I wanted to do with this chapter. I hope you're as satisfied as I am! Thanks again for all of the comments and views! Keep 'em coming!**

Ruby tenderly rubbed the bruise on the back of her head from where it hit the wall. She knew the mayor was a powerful person, but she had never known her to physically display that command. It terrified her, being tossed around like some ragdoll.

She rubbed her tired eyes, suddenly knowing just how exhausted Regina was after staying up night after night just to see Emma. What was that all about anyway? Out of all of the events that happened the previous night, Regina secretly visiting the sheriff to hold her hand was even more surprising than the brunette losing her cool and chucking Ruby around.

What was Regina playing at? What was her angle? It was no secret that the two women hated each other, and were constantly battling over their son. More often than not, he was caught in the crossfire between the two, and Ruby hated seeing the pain in his eyes.

In fact, that was really the only reason why she decided to play along with Operation Brush. The look of hope shining on his face made it impossible not to indulge him. Since Emma's misfortune, the boy sulked and scowled in a manner not unlike that of his adoptive mother.

But Ruby was a fool. She knew she was setting him up for disappointment. There was no way she could tell him about what she saw last night. There was already too much tension surrounding the troubled trio. This news could destroy him.

The little bell over the door tinkled merrily, breaking her from her swirling thoughts. Of course Henry skipped in, looking more chipper than she had seen him in weeks. He hopped up onto one of the stools at the counter, grinning like crazy.

"Hey Ruby!"

"What's up, Henry? Where's Mary Margaret at?"

"I wanted to walk to school by myself today." The knowing look he gave her made her stomach squirm. She knew exactly what he wanted to discuss without the teacher there.

"How is Operation Brush? Find out anything new?"

"Listen, Kiddo. I know how much this means to you, but I think we're going to have to shut down Operation Brush."

His smile faltered. "What? But it only just started!"

"I know, but... It's complicated. You wouldn't understand, and I don't even understand-"

"You found out something! You have to tell me! Please?"

"Henry..."

"Oh, so you get to know something about _my mom_, which, in case you didn't notice, is cursed right now!" He was scowling at her, all of his joy completely gone.

"It's not that simple, Henry. I wish it were, but this is way more messed up than-"

"Messed up? What happened, Ruby," Henry practically growled. He fixed her with an unblinking stare, and she felt herself breaking.

"Regina was there last night," she hissed.

"...What?"

"I'm not kidding, Henry."

"Was she trying to hurt her? I know she's the one who cursed her! Was she poisoning her? Messing with her IV or something?"

"Not really. She was..."

"Yeah?"

"She. Well, Regina was holding Emma's hand." Henry's jaw practically hit the floor. "Yeah. And when she did, that's when Emma's heart rate jumped. And then Regina was touching Emma's face! Not in a mean way. It was really...gentle. And then Emma's heart went crazy when Regina touched her lips."

"WHAT?" Ruby jumped at his exclamation.

"I told you it was messed up, Kiddo."

"I gotta see someone. Thanks, Ruby!"

"Hey, don't you have school?"

"Call Ms Blanchard and tell her that I got diarrhea or something!" He dashed out of the diner.

He hurried through the door to the stuffy little pawn shop, the ringing bell sounding much more ominous than the one over Granny's entrance. He peered through the gloom, looking for Gold. He approached the counter at the back quietly, always feeling like he shouldn't make noise, as if he was in a library.

The man he sought stepped out of his back room, looking at Henry with polite surprise. "Hello there, Henry. Can I help you with something?"

"It's about my mom. Emma, I mean."

"Yes. Such a terrible thing. I see she hasn't woken up yet."

"You told me that the only thing that could wake her up is True Love's Kiss."

"Indeed. That hasn't changed."

"I've been looking for her True Love."

"So I've heard. It would seem that Miss Swan has unknowingly kissed every bachelor in town."

Henry flushed at that comment. "Yeah. Not sure how I'm going to explain that to her when she wakes up." They both chuckled. "That's what I wanted to ask you. Emma's True Love isn't a man, is it?"

"I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out." Gold's eyes sparkled with mischief.

Henry's mouth gaped. "My mom loves a _woman?_"

"I daresay she does, Henry."

"But... Who?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question as well." His tone was even, pleasant and his knowing smirk never left his thin lips.

"But, they hate each other!"

"Look how often that brings people together. Remember the tale of Beauty and the Beast? Dear Belle had no fondness for Beast in the beginning. Yet, love still blossomed between to two, despite their differences."

"Yeah, but Belle didn't hate Beast. She resented him."

"Even so, Henry. Now, if I am not mistaken, you're very late for school. Off with you."

"Thanks, Mr Gold."

"It was my pleasure."

He left the shop, definitely not heading for the school. He dialed Ms Blanchard's number from one of the hospital phones. Her panicked voice crackled through the receiver.

"Henry? Where are you? Are you okay? Ruby said you got an upset stomach!"

"I'm okay, Ms Blanchard. I swear. I did get a stomachache, after I _really_ wanted to see Emma." He put as much sorrow into his voice as he could, knowing that I poor woman wouldn't be able to refuse him. "I miss her so much. I needed to be with my mom. Especially when my tummy doesn't feel good..."

A pained sigh came from the phone. "Okay. But you can't make a habit of this. Do you understand, Henry? Will you be able to get back to the apartment okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks, Ms Blanchard!" He hung up the phone and walked straight to Emma's room. Leroy was sitting next to the blonde, snoring in his deep sleep. Some watchman he was. The sight made Henry giggle, especially the little strand of saliva slowly making its way down the scruffy man's beard.

"Leroy?" Henry tentatively poked him in the arm.

"Mph!"

"Wake up, Leroy!"

The man opened his bloodshot eyes, looking down at the boy as if he had only just seen him for the first time. "Henry?"

"Hey!"

"Henry? What're you doin' here, kid?"

"I wanted to see my mom. Mind if you give us a little privacy?"

Leroy mumbled a tired consent, getting up and tottering out of the room. He plopped down into one of the chairs in the little waiting area and fell asleep immediately. Henry grasped one of Emma's hands, cringing at its coldness. He remembered what Ruby said, and listened to see if there was a change in the tempo of his mother's heart. There wasn't. It stayed constant. He knew what he needed to do.

"Emma? It's Henry. I'm sorry you've been stuck like this for so long. It's my fault. I was looking for your True Love in all the wrong places, and I'm _really_ sorry about making all of those guys kiss you.

"How come you didn't tell me that you liked my mom? Don't you see? It makes sense! You're the Savior! You're supposed to break the Curse and abolish Evil. I just didn't think you'd end up doing it that way.

"I'm gonna make this right for you. For us. For Mom. I'll never stop believing in you, Emma. You're gonna fix this. I'm not sure how, just yet, but I will. I promise. I love you, Emma." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and set off for his next destination: The City Hall. Regina's office.

The boy burst through the double doors to the mayor's office. He always had a flare for the dramatic. Regina's head snapped up off of the desk, looking startled and trying to identify the intruder.

Her eyes widened when she saw her son standing in the doorway, looking determined. She felt her heart break a little more, knowing that he was going to start yelling at her again. But when she looked at Henry a little closer, she saw a different kind of determination in his chocolate eyes.

"Henry? What on earth are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?" She rushed from the desk, kneeling down in front of the boy. She placed her hand on his tousseled hair, and he didn't shove it away.

"You've got to kiss her!"

The little bubble of happiness that had inflated in her chest shrunk a little bit. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I know you're scared! I know why you cursed her, but Gold told me that only True Love's Kiss can wake her up!" Regina's expression soured at the mention of that man.

"You shouldn't be listening to anything that man says."

"It doesn't matter. I was looking for her True Love in all the men. It isn't a man she loves!"

"Henry, what are you talking about?"

"You're her True Love, Mom!" Regina's heart burst, tears pricking her eyes immediately when he called her 'Mom.' "Don't you see? You're the only one who can wake her up! You've got to kiss her!"

"Henry..."

"No excuses! I know you might be the Evil Queen, but don't you see? Why doesn't anyone see what's so obvious? Emma's the Savior. It's her destiny to break the Curse and defeat the Queen." Regina could only mouth wordlessly at all that came tumbling from the boy's mouth. The worst part was that she understood precisely what he was talking about.

"I thought it meant you two were supposed to have some kind of epic battle. But now I see it. She's the product of True Love. She defeats Evil by destroying the Evil in you _with love_."

"Henry, please."

"No! No more pretending, Mom! Look at me and tell me the truth!"

Regina looked straight into the hardened eyes urging her to come clean about her feelings. She was prepared to deny it until the world ended, but he kept calling her Mom.

"Everything will change with us if you kiss her! Do you realize what we could have?"

"What's that Henry?"

"A _family_."

Regina's heart leapt to her throat. His expression was still hard and determined, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. That little smirk of his flooded her with a courage she hadn't felt in decades.

"You're right, Henry. I do like Ms Swan. But I wouldn't go so far as to call it love."

"But think of what happens when you hold Emma's hands! I know you know she reacts to you, and only you, Mom."

"That stupid girl couldn't keep her mouth shut, could she," Regina grumbled referring to Ruby's intrusion the night before.

"She didn't want to tell. I made her. Look, when I hold her hand, when anyone else does, she stays the same. Nothing changes. But when you touch her... I know you feel it."

"That doesn't mean love, Henry."

"Will you please try?" They stared at each other, his beseeching look totally disarming the mayor. Then he said the words he knew she wouldn't be able to deny, "For me?"

Regina sighed in defeat. "I will... Think about it. No promises."

"Thanks so much, Mom!" He threw his arms around her, and she quickly moved to pull him into a rib-cracking embrace. She wished the hug would never end, but he pulled away.

"I have to go, but thanks again. I _know_ this will work!" He started to walk away.

"Henry?" Regina called after him. He turned to look at her. "I've missed you." Tears splashed down her pale, tired face.

His mouth split into a big grin. "I missed you too."


	10. Afraid

Regina paced around her house like an agitated cat. The last time she felt so conflicted was when she was trying to decide if casting the Curse was worth killing her father for. Considering where she was standing at the moment, the answer to that query was fairly obvious. She didn't want to think about what it said about who she was anymore. The woman shook herself, refocusing her turbulent mind on the issues currently plaguing her.

On the one hand, she was completely elated. Henry had called her mom, and even better, he didn't care one bit that she liked another woman. Regina had been more than hateful in her day, but she never taught her son to feel that. She allowed a moment of pride to wash over her. Henry may have resented the ways she went about it, but Regina was a good mother.

It also felt surprisingly good to admit her feelings. It was true; she did hold romantic affections for the Savior. She smirked, imagining what Snow and Charming would look like if they found out that the Evil Queen was romantically involved with their precious daughter. But love? She had vowed never to love again. Not since... Regina swallowed hard.

On the other hand, she was afraid. It was one thing to admit to the feelings that she was having, but acting on them was on a completely different level. The look in Henry's shining face made her want to believe that she could follow through with the things she said. However, she was back in her big, empty, echoing mansion. Her nerve was failing. She loved holding Emma's hand, and touching her face, but she felt like an ice cube was slithering down her throat when she thought of kissing the woman. Regina seemed to think about kissing the Savior a lot these days, and the idea that she was losing herself petrified the brunette.

She found herself in the lounge and made a beeline for the bar. She poured herself a rather deep glass of scotch, taking a huge gulp to chase away the cold her house dripped with. She coughed, forgetting just how bad she was at chugging liquor. Regina Mills was a woman of class, and that meant sipping.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the subtle tremors wracking her nervous body. The brunette took a deep breath and counted to ten. Counting always made her feel better. Numbers made sense. Words were abstract and convoluted, always rife with double standards and loopholes. Numbers were set. They were honest and never lied.

When she and the rest of the residents of the Enchanted forest appeared in Storybrooke, Regina discovered so many different things about the new world she found herself in. As a royal, there was no need to know how to cook, to clean. She loved learning how to prepare the different cuisines from around the world. Driving a car made her giddy. She knew some mathematics from running her kingdom, but this place had even more to offer. She drank it up, finding the formulas and guaranteed solutions calming.

Regina continued to hold her eyes shut. She sipped slowly, trying to rebuild the dam that contained her emotions. She felt raw and exposed in all of the still air around her. _Tick...tick...tick..._ She focused on the only sound piercing the silence. _Tick...tick...tick..._

Her eyes opened. She slowly turned her head to the right, looking over her shoulder and at the wall. _Tick...tick...tick..._ The clock moved at its carefully measured pace, looking innocent. _Tick...tick...tick..._

It was 11:47 in the evening. Normally, Regina would have been collapsed in bed, trying to get a few hours of rest under her belt before seeing Emma. Sleeping was easy for her. It meant that she didn't have to wrestle with all of the emotions warring within her. She could close her eyes and just dream.

The incessant nightmares about the stable had almost completely disappeared. When she sunk into her dreams, emerald eyes, crinkled by a soft smile, greeted her. A hand was extended toward her, soft and beckoning. Her own fingers found warm ones, and they pulled her close. The brunette was breathing the sweet, intoxicating air of the woman who was entirely too close to her. She felt strong arms and a tall body keep her safe from...everything. _Tick...tick...tick..._

Regina noticed that her glass was empty, not having noticed consuming all of the rough drink. She immediately reached for the crystal decanter and poured herself another equally-deep amount. The mayor knew she was going to regret drinking so much the next day, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Alcohol was the only think the drowned out the cacophony of incomprehensible thoughts and emotions causing a dull throb in her temple. She walked to one of the chairs, noticing how fuzzy her head felt, and the way her feet wouldn't quite cooperate.

Regina scowled at the clock, as though it was purposefully mocking her. The woman closed her eyes once more, trying to shut out the loneliness of the manor. She kicked off her pumps, noticing how her feet were aching. She let her head fall back, tired of always holding herself up. A light breeze was toying with the curled tips of her hair.

The mayor opened her eyes. She was standing in the woods. Henry was facing her, and tears were streaming down his blotchy cheeks. He was next to Emma, who was sprawled across the forest floor. Her eyes were open, unfocused and not blinking.

"Mom?"

"Henry!" she cried, choking on her own tears.

"You did this!"

"I didn't want it to be this way."

"Why, Mom? Why?" He looked so worn and defeated.

"I'm so s-sorry! I couldn't... I was afraid, Henry. I... I _am_ afraid."

"You did this. Now, it's time for you to fix this."

"How? I can't. I don't have the power. I'm t-too weak."

"You know what you need to do," he said softly.

"I c-can't do that. I'm so scared."

"She's waiting for you!"

"No she's not! Look at her, Henry! Look! SHE'S DEAD!" Regina clapped her hands to her mouth. Something shattered nearby.

The brunette's head jerked upward, her eyes snapping open just as a little shriek escaped her throat. Apparently, when she covered her mouth in her dream her hand had actually jerked of its own accord, flinging the loosely-gripped tumbler to the floor. _Tick...tick...tick..._ It was almost 2:45am. She flung herself from the chair, abandoning the broken mess on the ground.

Regina's keys were still clenched in her fist as she half-ran down the hall to Emma's room. The image of the Savior's blank, unseeing eyes still pressed itself in on the backs of her own frantic ones. She had no logical reason to believe that anything had changed, but the dream had thoroughly shaken her.

The mayor crashed through the door, not stopping until she was leaning over the hospital bed, peering at the object of her nightmare. The blonde's face was still blissfully impassive, her eyes shut, looking like she was peacefully asleep. The steady beeping of Emma's heart monitor made Regina nervously laugh at her own foolishness.

She shut her eyes again, counting to ten with the pace of the sheriff's heart. The nightmare was simply a manifestation of her guilt and fear. Back in the Enchanted Forest, a dream like that would have more likely been a foresight or warning. She still clung to those instincts.

"What are you doing to me, Emma? What are we? You, you're the Savior. You're all that's good. I'm the Evil Queen. I'm the essence of Darkness, though Gold could give me a run for my money," she muttered under her breath. "How would we be good for each other? I can only bring hurt to you; it's all I know. I'll just end up tainting you. You shouldn't want me. Not ever."

Regina took Emma's chilly fingers in her own. "It's funny, isn't it?" she said to the unconscious woman. "You're supposed to be good. You're supposed to save everyone...maybe even me. You should be bringing light and warmth to all of the corners of our lives, and yet here you are, cold as death. Ironic. I'm the one that's Evil, but I'm warming you up." She squeezed the blonde's hand a little tighter, hearing the responding jump in heart rate.

"If I could, Emma Swan, I would keep you warm constantly." Her heart clenched, feeling those cold fingers flick against her own. It felt like the blonde was giving permission to the mayor, telling her to come closer.

Regina climbed into the bed without hesitation. She draped herself over the motionless body beneath her, shuddering at how devoid the blankets were of heat. She cupped Emma's face, pulling the heavy head underneath her chin. The beating of the Savior's heart went haywire, tugging the corners of Regina's lips up into an affectionate smile.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, holding the other woman against her. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers through long, think curls. Her breathing matched Emma's, deep and slow. Everything felt right. Almost everything. She longed to feel the other woman's arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her close and secure.

She turned her sleepy eyes down to the Savior's face, placing her hand against a cold cheek. Again, she ran her fingers over those oddly-hot lips, noticing how her own felt kind of chilly. They felt...bare.

She shifted herself above the blonde, leaning down, almost brushing her lips against Emma's. Even slightly apart Regina could feel that heat pressing along her mouth, urging her forward. Her mouth was dry, and a burning desire in her stomach was screaming at her to place her lips flush against the blonde's.

Regina was about lower herself just a little further when a face exploded behind her eyes. Daniel was staring at her, smiling, holding her and leaning in for one of those earth-shattering kisses he gave only to the young princess. She choked, tumbling off of the bed. Fresh tears betrayed her, and Regina Mills ran.


	11. Not Worthy

**Thank you everyone for all of the reviews, follows and favourites! You guys are all wonderful, and I love you! Bear with me just a little longer; the Kiss is coming! Enjoy!**

Regina felt warm and heavy. Exhaustion still coursed through her like poison, and she tried to lift her arm to rub over her eyes, but it seemed to be made of lead. She wanted to pry open her eyelids to try and figure out where she was, but they too were weights too heavy for her.

She took a deep breath. It smelled sterile. A steady beeping reached her ears. The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of her dry lips. She was with Emma. She could hear those heartbeats. If she just rolled over, she could wrap herself around the blonde, and everything would be better.

She lifted her hand, to at least grab Emma's, the sound of her heightened heart rate would soothe all of the aches that were slowly becoming more apparent to the brunette. She groped around, but her hand bumped into a cold little railing. She frowned. She moved the other hand, and it also knocked against the same. She was in her own hospital bed. That new realization made her crack open her heavy lids.

Everything was fuzzy and dark. She rubbed her eyes, blinking them to clear her blurry vision. The room she was in was dark. The blinds were drawn, but she could see light peeking around the edges. She groaned, trying to sit up.

She peered around a little more, and noticed a little, snoring lump curled up like a cat in a chair beside her bed. She looked a little closer and saw that it was Henry. She smiled, happiness warming her heart.

She leaned over, resting her hand on the boy and giving him a gentle shake. He lifted his head up, looking around for the source of disturbance. His eyes fell on his smiling mother, and it took him a moment to realize what he was seeing. His face split into a wide grin, leaping out of the chair to hug her.

"Mom! You're awake!"

"How long was I out?"

"Uhhh... Almost two days?"

"_What?_ What happened?"

"I d'know. You were gone, and I had Ruby help me to find you. You were passed out or something in the middle of a field. Does that sound familiar to you?"

Regina frowned, wracking her memory. "No... It doesn't."

"You said something to me. You said you were sorry and that you tried."

"I don't remember..."

"I'm gonna dash for a moment. I'm gonna get Dr Whale. He has a few things to tell you. Don't go anywhere!"

Regina chuckled at his little joke, resting her head back against the pillows. What she wouldn't give for a hot cup of coffee. Everything felt achy, her muscles, her head, her...feet? She noticed the deep throbbing aches in her feet. When the brunette attempted to wiggle them around a bit, she winced, hissing in pain. Something was definitely wrong with them. That was probably one of the things Whale had to talk about with her.

As if on cue, the doctor knocked lightly on the door before entering, Henry following closely. He wore a polite smile, flipping through the pages on the clipboard clenched in his hand.

"Good morning, Madame Mayor. Glad to see you're awake."

"Wish I felt that way," she sighed, foregoing her usual curt banter. "So, what's the damage?"

"When you arrived, you were unconscious and slightly hypothermic and a little dehydrated. Your boy here did his best to keep you warm while Miss Lucas got aid. That was easy to take care of, but the physical damage to your body was another story."

"Physical damage?"

"I don't know what was happening with you, Madame Mayor, but you were wandering around for God knows how long completely barefoot. The scrapes and bruises on the rest of your body will heal just fine, but your feet..."

"Yes?"

"We had to do some minor surgery. Just stitches, but you'll be off of your feet for a couple of weeks."

"Great. That's just fantastic. Anything else?"

"I faxed a prescription for Vicodin to the pharmacy. That should help with any pain or discomfort you experience."

"How much longer do I have to be hospitalized for?"

"Just for the remainder of the day. We can discharge you this afternoon if you're feeling up to it."

"Good. I'm hungry."

"I'll have a nurse bring you some breakfast right away, Madame Mayor." He nodded and left.

"Henry?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you do a favor for me?"

"Sure!"

"Would you...wheel me," she cringed at that word. "To Emma's room?"

"Are you gonna kiss her?"

"Henry..."

"Sorry, I just, uh... Have you been thinking about it, like you promised?"

Regina stared down at her eager son. "Yes, I have been thinking about it. I won't say any more on the matter. Come on, help me into a wheelchair."

Henry pushed his mother down the hallways toward his other mother's room. Regina wasn't quite so used to the building seeming so alive. She was used to the dead quiet of the place as she slunk her way to the Savior's room. Henry hummed happily behind her, and his renewed joy was oddly infectious. She felt lighter than she had in weeks.

He pushed her through the glass door, parking her right beside Emma's bed. Regina leaned over and whispered to her son. He nodded and left, turning back to smile at the two women one more time before he sat in one of the chairs in the little waiting area.

The brunette looked at the woman beside her. She felt her chest weigh down with guilt. Regina took Emma's hand between her own. It was cold as ever, and she palmed the flesh gently, coaxing heat back into it.

"I failed you, Emma Swan. I will always fail you." She fought back tears threatening to overflow again. "Just like I failed Daniel. I'm not supposed to have love, or a happy ending. Just look at what I did to try and get one.

"Even if you do love me, or want me in some way, I will never be what you need. I'll always be wrong for you. It's just my destiny." Regina smiled to herself.

"Then again, you were always there for me. You were the one to save me, and even defend me on occasion. Maybe you're supposed to chase my scared heart. Maybe you're supposed to find me, no matter how far I run...

"Emma, this is the most terrifying thing that I have ever done. I've left you waiting, disappointed Henry, all because I was so selfish and afraid to face the truth. Even now, I can't do this. I am... I hope you forgive me in the future." Regina pressed her lips to the newly-warmed fingers of the Savior, rejoicing in the softness of Emma's skin.

Emma's heart jumped, as usual. But when Regina's lips grazed the other woman's knuckles, her index finger rose slowly to brush along the brunette's scratched cheek. She gasped softly at the gentle contact. She brought Emma's hand up to her face, cupping her cheek into the blonde's hand. She inhaled deeply as the Savior's thumb involuntarily stroked over her own warm skin.

"Emma... Even now, I can't. I feel you, and I want more. If I give in to that, I'll never be able to stop. I don't take things kindly, or gently. I take using pain, violence and misery. Look, just look, at what I did to try and take Henry from you. Even after you told me you were leaving. I couldn't let it go. I _am_ the Evil Queen." She peered intently at the sleeping woman's blank face.

"Everything in me right now is screaming to kiss _you_. To kiss you, Emma. I want to take, and make you mine. But..." She glanced over her shoulder at Henry, who was thumbing through a magazine. "It's all a dream. It's all a fantasy. Dreams don't come true for the wicked." She set Emma's hand back down, turning herself away from her Savior.


	12. Nightmare

**Thank you everyone for being so patient with me. I'm sorry I haven't updated, but you know how holidays interfere with all of that! To make up for my little hiatus, here's a long chapter. I hope you enjoy it! Please comment and let me know what you think, this was a difficult chapter for me to write.**

Regina pushed herself through the door to Granny's, grimacing at the awkwardness of the action. Ruby looked up from the table she was wiping down. Her eyes opened wide, and she rushed over, clearly intending to help push the crippled mayor to her destination. A hard look stopped the young woman in her tracks.

She wheeled herself to one of the small, unoccupied tables closest to her. Ruby rushed forward to pull one of the chairs away, determined to help in some way. The air was thick with tension, neither of them sure how to act around the other.

"So... How's your recovery, Mayor Mills?"

Miss Lucas, I came here for food, if you could call it that, not for idle chat about my health."

"Right. Do you need a menu, or do you know what you'd like?"

"I'd like a Caesar salad, no onions, light on the dressing. Thank you."

"Coming right up, Mayor." The tall brunette turned to place the order she took, but stopped and faced Regina again. "I know that I'm not the best person to trust with secrets all of the time, but I want you to know that I didn't tell anyone about my finding you with Henry."

"I... Thank you, Miss Lucas." Whatever venom was hiding behind the mayor's lips, it died, struck by the sincerity of the girl's words.

"People ask me. They do. They know I was involved, but I don't say anything." Her eyes pop wide suddenly, as if horrified. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I was rambling! I'll go place your order!" And before the older woman could even respond, Ruby whisked herself away.

The rest of Regina's time spent at the little diner was quiet, and somewhat awkward. The waitress was clearly embarrassed by her words, and refused to meet the other brunette's eyes, not that Regina was trying to do so either. Though irritated by the childish reactions of the wolf-girl, Regina did allow her to hold open the door when she started to wheel herself to the exit. She accepted the wordless apology.

Just before she made to push herself over the threshold, Regina looked up at the other woman. She found herself feeling slightly more powerless without her height, always exaggerated by stilettos, to aid her when dealing with her subjects.

"Because you asked, I get the stitches in my right foot out tomorrow. I'll be on crutches for a few days, then the other foot. After that, I'll be on a cane until I'm fully recovered." She grimaced as the idea of hobbling around on a cane made her think of the imp.

"I bet you'll be happy to be rid of that chair, huh?"

"Your astuteness surpasses you," Regina replied dryly. Ruby shifted uncomfortably, unsure how to reply. "Good day, Miss Lucas."

"Madame Mayor," she said formally.

The former queen pushed herself out into the brisk autumn air, pausing to pull some leather gloves from the pockets of her pea coat. She didn't know why she had wheeled herself all the way from her mansion to the diner. Maybe it was to feel like she was still free, still mobile, and not beached like a whale. The prospect of transporting herself all the way back was significantly less appealing.

Apparently her irritation showed, because David saw the look on her face and strode over, smiling pleasantly. "Madame Mayor! Can I help you?"

She threw him a withering look. "No one asks if I need any help with any other aspect in my life, but as soon as I can't walk, everyone wants to aid me."

"Er... Is that a yes?"

"If you feel so inclined, you may do so."

"As you wish, Mayor. So, where to?"

"My house, if you think you can manage."

"No problem."

Regina was always idly impressed with the way her insults, and generally unpleasant manor slid right off of him. He was easier to bait as Charming, but David seemed to have a more impenetrable disposition. It probably helped that he was blithely unaware of their history. Even so, he was always kind. It really irritated Regina.

They moved in relative silence. The mayor was still too bitter about being confined to a wheelchair to want to tolerate pointless banter that would certainly come dribbling out of his mouth. He tried, though, because he was a Charming, and that's what they do.

Regina replied in clipped tones, never elaborating, and he got the message rather quickly. She hated when they passed others on the sidewalk. It was one thing for them to see her pushing herself along in a wheelchair, but it was something else entirely for them to see their Mayor being pushed around by another. Shame tore through her, but she was Regina Mills. She held her head high, setting her jaw and squaring her shoulders. So even in a wheelchair with hideous wrappings around her feet, she managed to look regal and downright threatening.

David pushed her up the walk to the Mayoral Mansion, and she felt him pause for the smallest of moments, as he was mildly surprised to see a makeshift ramp in place over the stairs leading up to the porch. He admitted that we wasn't sure what he was going to do once they arrived at 108 Mifflin. He was too scared to ask if he would need to carry her in, or something unbelievably awkward like that.

He sighed inwardly when he took in the sight of the basic wooden ramp. He pushed her up it a little awkwardly, but they made it to the top. The brunette pulled a key ring out of her pocket, selecting a brass one and holding it out to the nervous looking man standing over her. She cringed at the fact that he could do that.

He took it without question, turning the lock and opening the door, then handed the bundle of keys back, not sure if he should say anything. "So, do you need help with anything else...?"

Regina locked her eyes onto his, seeing that the offer was genuine and not just an empty offer of assistance. She considered it briefly. "Actually, I do find it difficult to shop for groceries. I'll be on crutches tomorrow, but maybe you wouldn't mind holding my basket for me?"

"It would be my pleasure, Madame Mayor," he replied warmly. "Give me a call when you need, and I'll come pick you up."

"Thank you, Mr Nolan."

"Please, David."

"Thank you, David. I will see you tomorrow."

Regina was lying stiff as a board on an examination table. She felt humiliated being in a scratchy, thin, drab hospital gown. There was a little partition erected over her knees so that she wouldn't have to see Whale working on her foot. The uncomfortable tugging on the little stitches as he pulled them away from her flesh made her skin crawl. Regina was resilient and far from squeamish, but she couldn't quite place why this action made her so distressful.

The brunette was grateful that Whale didn't feel any inclination to chat during the procedure. He merely gave her little updates as to the progress of the stitch removal. He let her know that her wounds were healing beautifully, though they were certain to leave scars and minor nerve damage.

Scars were nothing to Regina. While others might view them as ugly, she found herself proud of the little scars that had peppered her body during her many years. It showed that yes, she could be hurt, but she was able to survive. She was a fighter, and wearing those marks proved as such.

The mayor inhaled sharply through her teeth; something icy was running down her foot, and she was caught by surprise. Whale apologized suddenly, saying that he was sorry for not warning her. He was running an alcohol-soaked gauze pad along the recently-closed wounds.

"Okay, Regina, I've removed all of the stitches from your foot. You'll still want to continue with your cleansing routine. Keep applying more Neosporin to the area, and make sure that the foot gets to breathe.

"It's looking good, but if any of those scabs split open, I want you to soak the foot in water as hot as you can stand it for a minimum of twenty minutes. That will help to draw out any potential infection, but if you feel the split is too bad, come back here and I'll patch it up for you.

"I was also looking at your left foot, and we should still be able to take out the stitches on Tuesday, as we had originally planned. The main gouge in the arch of that foot was significantly worse than any of the others, so it will take a little longer to heal.

"Once you're off of your crutches, I want you stay out of any high heels for a week or two. Your feet will be tender, and heels will only hinder your recovery. Once you're up to it, though, feel free to sport any footwear you desire.

"Now that that's out of the way, I'm going to get you your crutches, and you can be on your way Mayor Mills. Feel free to put on your clothes while I'm out." He nodded politely and left the little room she was in.

Regina swung her legs over the edge of the little table she was on, hearing the paper underneath her crinkle from the action. She hastily slipped out of the gown, retreating back to the comfort and elegance of her satin shirt that she picked out that day. She looked down at the silvery gray material after buttoning it up. It was the shirt that Emma had borrowed shortly after deciding to stay in Storybrooke. Regina decided that it looked better on her own form, rather than on the sheriff.

Although, popping each individual button open at an agonizingly slow pace, revealing milky skin usually housed under cotton tank tops inch by inch would be surprisingly satisfying. She could imagine the look of frustration and urgency in those disarming emerald eyes of the blonde woman. She could imagine-

Nothing. There was nothing to imagine. Regina felt heat creeping up her cheeks, embarrassed to have given in to such a wanton fantasy. She shifted uncomfortably. Indulging in such daydreams was so very undignified and childish. She chastised herself for being so weak. Regina was many, many things, but weak was no where on that list, and as she knew so well, love is weakness. Love? Who said anything about love?

Regina was about to stumble down a path that would only hold more questions and confusion than answers and clarity. A soft knock sounded on the door, and a nurse walked in, smiling sympathetically, two aluminum crutches clutched in her hands. She had to stop herself from scoffing with disgust. The mayor was not to be pitied.

The look she shot woman was more than enough to tell her to say only what was necessary and then leave with all the haste she could manage. To Regina's relief, the nurse followed the untold order, helping to adjust the crutches to the brunette's height. Once she was satisfied that they were fit to the patient, the nurse said a polite goodbye and left.

Regina gingerly tested herself on the silly looking contraptions lodged underneath her armpits. It wasn't as bad as she thought, and her foot only twinged mildly when she put her weight on it. Even though it was far from comfortable, the proud woman was out of that horrific wheelchair. She could stand again. Regina would always stand in the end.

She was considering calling David to pick her up for their shopping appointment, but she was in the hospital, and Regina felt herself being pulled down a familiar route to a room holding a familiar woman.

She shimmied through the door, huffing in frustration every time it smacked her when she wasn't agile enough to slip past the threshold. She hobbled over to the chair, collapsing into it, already feeling an ache forming in her underarms.

"I'm back," she whispered softly. "I must say, it's a surprising relief to be around someone who isn't pestering me with foolish questions about my injuries. The worst part about it, is that even if I wanted to give them answers, which I most certainly do not, I can't. I don't really know what happened to me that night.

"I remember being here... being close to you. I remember the heat, and then Daniel's face." A lump rises in her throat. Even after so many decades, talking about her beloved stable boy still makes the brunette choke on her words.

"And then... And then... Pain. I felt like my heart was about to explode, and I felt like I had to escape, Emma. But there was nowhere to run. I ran anyway. And then I was alone... And lost. After that, I let the black take over. It felt so good, to finally give up after all of these long years.

"Of course, Fate is stubborn, even in this world. Henry was above me, cradling me in his arms as I used to do for him. He brought warmth through me. He always does. And yet, as much as I wanted to let him bring his light through me, I couldn't.

"Emma, I couldn't fight the doubts in me. You have never known how it feels to have your child look at you like you're a dangerous stranger. Ever since that silly book came into his life, he's never looked at me as his mother. He's seen the Evil Queen. How can I help that not only does he see the truth, but he can only see in black and white?

"And then I...tried to kill you. That drove him away completely. He couldn't look at me without hatred in his eyes. That was something I tried to keep from his heart. No child should know that hatred at his age. All he wanted to do was save you.

"Even that changed. He discovered that maybe I was the one who could wake you, which is preposterous, and he came back to me. I was _so_ unbelievably happy, that I was willing to overlook the rest, but I couldn't fight those nagging feelings that clung to the edges of my mind.

"If it was someone else for you, Emma, he would walk from me and never look back. If it were anyone but me, Henry would be gone from me forever. That's what terrifies me. He's undeniably happy at the prospect of having a family, something that has been denied him his entire life, but I can't fight the feeling that he would find his family with anyone as long as you were in it."

Regina sighed heavily, suddenly exhausted from her monologue. She leaned over, resting her head on the sheriff's forearm. The cool of her skin was remarkably soothing to the brunette, and she let herself stop for many long minutes, reveling in the blissful emptiness that the blonde brought to her mind.

"Again, thank you, David. You have been of great assistance to me." She let a small smile cover her face as her companion set several bags of groceries onto one of the kitchen counters.

"I'm always happy to help, Mayor." He smiled with warmth, as always. "Would you like any help putting these away?"

"Thank you, but I think I can manage." David looked at her doubtfully. "I can see that you won't accept that, though. Go ahead."

He started emptying one of the bags, and Regina let him know where each of the items belonged. Though she would never admit it, the brunette found herself grateful that she didn't have to stump her way awkwardly around the kitchen, trying to navigate crutches while holding onto things in her hands.

They worked comfortably around each other, and once the last item - a box of linguini - was stowed into a cupboard, David clapped his hands together to signify the completion of their task. He leaned casually against one of the counters.

"Anything else you need me to do? Fix a leaky roof, do some plumbing?" he joked. Regina let out a small chuckle.

"I think that will do for today. I seem to be in your debt."

"Not a bit. I didn't do this for favors; I just wanted to help."

"Again, thank you."

"How're those crutches treating you?"

"They-" She was about to say that they didn't bother her one bit. She was strong, and Regina could not show any weaknesses. Yet, it struck her that she did not need to put on any kind of show for David Nolan. Right here, right now, he was just David Nolan. He wasn't Prince Charming, doing everything in his power to defend his precious Snow White. He was just a man showing her a little good-natured concern.

"They are rather uncomfortable."

"They really are. I was on crutches a few times in my day. Can I show you a trick? It won't make them pain-free or any easier to use, but it helped me."

"By all means."

"Got any dish towels you wouldn't mind surrendering?" Regina motioned to a cabinet beside the dishwasher. He fished out two white towels. "Tape?"

"Tape? What kind, dear?"

"Packing tape, or duct tape. Whatever you prefer." The mayor told him where to find some packing tape in her study. He wasn't gone long before he came bounding back into the kitchen, looking like a big puppy. He took the crutches after Regina sat herself on a chair. David put each of the towels on the cradles at the tops of each crutch. Afterward, he taped them in place, rather crudely the woman observed.

He flashed her a smile, looking as though he had solved a dire problem. "Here, this will help them to be less painful. Give them a try."

"I'd rather just take your word for it. I've had enough of hobbling around on those things for a day."

"I understand completely. Okay, well, if that's all you need I think I'll be heading out. And, if you need help with anything else, just give me a holler."

"You have my gratitude, David. Have a good evening."

Regina tore the sheets of off herself as though they were on fire. Her silk pajamas clung to her sticky skin, drenched with sweat. Her chest was heaving with the effort to breathe. Her eyes spun wildly in their sockets, not focusing on anything actually around her. If someone were to see her at that moment, they would realize that Regina wasn't really there. Her waking mind was trapped elsewhere.

The brunette scrambled from the bed, frenzied, mumbling incoherent things. She tried to stand, but when she put her weight on both of her feet, a strangled cry ripped from her throat, and she collapsed. Not even faltering, she started clawing at the ground, dragging herself like a crippled beast.

"Daniel..." she moaned. "I'm coming for you. I won't let her take you!" Her voice was rising, her eyes still spinning at a dizzying rate. "I can save you!" She pulled herself to her feet by the doorframe that she found herself by. Ignoring the sharp protests in the soles of her feet, Regina stumbled down the hall, clinging to bare walls, groaning with both emotional and physical pain.

"Father! Father, I had to! I was hurting so bad. Daddy, I love you..." The words tumbled from her lips like a sniveling child, tears staining her blanched face. "I just wanted to be hap-" Her words were cut short when she tumbled down her staircase, landing in a crumpled heap.

She was still and silent for a few long moments, her eyes wide and staring in shock. Then, she inhaled sharply, her breath sputtering as she filled her lungs. "NOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked. She was clutching at her stomach, screaming and writhing on the ground. Regina's hands moved up to claw at her face, her nails leaving long, angry marks, even drawing blood in several places. "I'M SORRY," she howled.

As if possessed, the brunette rose from the floor, half running, half stumbling down the darkened streets. She was sobbing, her face blotchy and scratched, looking like an overgrown toddler having a fit.

Bloody footprints followed her as she blundered her way down the sidewalk, still not seeing anything surrounding her. Her hands were wringing around each other, occasionally flying out in front of her, flinching as though she was trying to ward off an attack.

"_Please... Please..._" she moaned over and over again in between all of the unintelligible babbling that fell from her trembling lips.

The feral woman crashed her way into the hospital, looking for all the world like a deranged, abused creature escaped from its cage. She staggered her way down a familiar path the brunette was unaware that she was treading. She slipped occasionally from the blood gushing slickly from her feet.

The mayor clawed at the glass door until she threw her weight against it, falling over the threshold and slamming into hard, cold tile. She stood again, because she was Regina Mills, and Regina Mills was a proud woman not to be beaten. Her breath was ragged, her eyes still whirling madly, but she had stopped trying to speak entirely.

As though being pulled by strings attached to her limbs, the manic mayor fumbled her way into Emma's bed. The moment she pressed herself against the blonde's body, Regina's entire demeanor shifted in the blink of an eye. Her breathing steadied, and her bloodshot eyes, though still glassy and unseeing, ceased their nauseating movements. She clung to the unconscious sheriff like a child would their teddy bear. Regina's eyes closed, a contented hum vibrating through her shredded throat. She found her Savior.

**Also, for any of you who are interested, I do have a Tumblr. It mostly me reposting Swan Queen stuffs, but even so, you can find me here: writers- dilemma .tumblr **


	13. Out of Time

**Okay, so this is the longest chapter yet, but there was a lot going on! I was considering splitting it up, but you guys can handle this! Thanks again for all of the comments and reviews! Enjoy!**

Henry ran through the halls, frantically seeking out his mother. Mary Margaret had received a phone call fifteen minutes ago, saying that the hospital had found Regina in Emma's room, injured and unresponsive. The teacher immediately roused Henry, considering that it was about six-thirty in the morning. Neither of them changed, and both grabbed coats and shoes before speeding off.

She didn't bother trying to slow Henry down, or keep up with him when he pelted from the car the moment she pulled into a parking space. Though he was wide-awake and petrified, Mary Margaret was still trying to shake the sleep from her bones.

Henry skidded down one of the wards, his sneakers squealing and scuffing against the tile. He knew he was in the right place when he heard strained orders being barked over the bedlam of Regina's tortured wailing. He had never heard such sounds coming from his normally composed mother, but the way they smashed through his head made Henry more terrified than he's ever been in his entire life.

He stopped dead outside the only room bustling with activity. His brown eyes widened in horror. A whole team of nurses, headed by Dr Whale, was surrounding a gurney than Regina was on. She was flailing her limbs, thrashing her body and head around. Her silk pajamas were in an alarming state of disrepair, and the boy got an eye-full of hot, red blood gushing from his mother's bare feet.

"NO! STOP! I DON'T WANT YOU TOUCHING ME LIKE THAT. LET ME GO! PLEASE," the mayor tried to bellow, but her throat was so torn that it came out as nothing more than scratchy shrieks. Her eyes were popping in evident terror, while five nurses were wrestling her violently undulating form to the gurney.

"MOM!" Henry shouted, just as Mary Margaret approached him, placing her hands protectively over his shoulders.

"Henry?" Dr Whale looked confused as to the boy's presence, momentarily forgetting that he had requested Regina's son be notified. "Someone get him out of here. He shouldn't be seeing this. I need a sedative _now_," he hissed to one of the nurses fumbling to carry out his orders.

"Come on, Henry," his guardian whispered, trying to inject as much warmth and comfort into her voice. Even Mary Margaret couldn't fight the way her words shook upon seeing the other woman having a severe attack of some kind. The visual of Regina's eyes rolling in her head made the teacher's stomach roll.

Henry pulled himself from her grasp, stepping closer to the threshold of the room. "Mom! Mom, it's me! It's Henry! I'm here," he sort of half-shouted, half-cooed to his compromised mother.

Her terror-stricken gaze locked onto his, and it seemed like she was struggling to see him. To see her son in the here and now, not whatever horror she was jammed into. "I'm so... _sorry_," she choked out, before losing herself again, her mouth gaping in a silent scream. A needle slid into her pinned arm, injecting something. Several long moments later, Regina's body slumped motionless onto the gurney, unconscious.

"H-Henry?" Mary Margaret's voice pierced through him, but he still couldn't tear his eyes away from all that lay before him. "Come on, Henry. We can't stay here." He stayed silent. "We... We could go to Granny's? I'm sure you're hungry..." But she could tell by his ashy complexion that food was the last thing on the boy's mind.

"I can't leave her," he whispered quietly. "If you're hungry, you can go get something, Ms Blanchard. But I won't leave my mom."

"How about I bring you something from Granny's? Do you want a pastry? Hot chocolate?" She pulled gently at him, getting the boy to walk toward the nearest waiting area.

"I want... A chocolate chip muffin and some hot chocolate. Please." He didn't look at her. Henry just frowned fearfully at the floor, dragging his feet. "I'll... I'm gonna wait in Emma's room. You don't have to walk me."

"Okay. I will be back in a bit." She didn't question him, knowing that he needed time to be alone and process what he had just witnessed. She watched him until he was out of sight before leaving the hospital.

Henry stood outside the little room that Emma was housed in. A nurse was in there. He watched as the man stripped bloodstained sheets from his mother's body. His eyes widened, wondering if something had also managed to injure his birthmother. But something else caught his eye. He looked on the ground, and noticed bloody footprints surrounding the bed and they were coming from the entrance to the room.

He frowned, looking around the tiles of the hallway he was standing in. No bloody footprints were there. Then his gaze fell upon a mop and the ugly, yellow bucket it stood in. The sight of his adoptive mother's feet dribbling blood swam to the head of his mind, and it all clicked.

Regina had been in Emma's room. She was on the bed with her. Doing what, he couldn't say. But she had walked through these halls, barefoot and bleeding all the way here. She was in her pajamas. Was she sleep walking? Henry knew his mother. She wouldn't risk something as foolish as walking around without shoes on injured feet. She was careful and attentive to her health. Something like this, well, it just wasn't Regina.

The nurse opened the door, peering down at the pensive boy. "Can I help you?"

"Huh? Oh, can I go in? I just wanna sit with Emma."

"If you don't mind me cleaning up, but maybe you'd rather wait until I get the blood off of the floor..."

"I'll step around it." Henry entered, hopping over the brownish splotches peppering the tiles. He plopped down into that hard little chair, resting his chin on the edge of Emma's bed. The rumble of the mop bucket being wheeled in did nothing to disturb his position. He quietly let the nurse do his job.

Mary Margaret tentatively entered the freshly-sanitized room about fifteen minutes after the nurse had left. She took more time than necessary to run her errand so as to allow the boy time to be with his mother and thoughts. Two paper cups were in each of her hands, and a little paper bag was tucked underneath her arms.

"Hey," she said softly. "I called the school to let them know you won't be in today. And I also left a message for Dr Whale so he knows where to find you when he's done with Regina."

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking the offered hot chocolate from the woman staring at him across from his mother.

"I can't stay for too long. I do have to be at the school." A weak smile crossed her lips. "If Regina saw that I was just leaving you in-"

"Don't." Henry's voice was a little firmer.

"I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine." He took the muffin she held out. His hot chocolate stayed untouched.

"If you want to be alone-"

"I do."

"Okay. I'll let you be." She moved around to him, moving to plant a gentle kiss on his head, but he pulled away. She looked down at him sadly. "You know where I keep the spare key to the apartment when you want to go home. He grunted. She decided that saying anything further wouldn't even get that much of a response and she left with one last look at him.

Dr Whale entered Emma Swan's room, and stopped short. He saw Henry curled up next to his birthmother, tucked under her blankets, fast asleep. He was suddenly reminded of just how early Henry Mills' tumultuous morning had been. He must have been exhausted.

He moved quietly to the bed, placing a hand on Henry's small shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. His snores burbled for a moment, his face scrunching trying to deny that he was being woken. Whale gave another shake, this time seeing sleepy eyes open and peer groggily up at him.

"Good morning, Henry." He smiled as warmly as he could.

Henry focused on the man for a moment, and then realizing whom it was, he bolted upright. "Ismymomokay?" he blurted as fast as he could.

"It's hard to say. I've got her sedated and she seems to be stabilized, but I have no explanation for her behavior. Perhaps she was having a reaction to the pain medication. She was feverish when we found her and clearly hallucinating. Perhaps she fell ill."

"And stumbled all the way here?"

"I know, it doesn't make much sense. I am trying to find out what is wrong with her. If you want to, you can go see her. She's not awake, but I'm sure she'd appreciate her son's company all the same." Dr Whale smiled down at Henry.

"Thanks, for helping my mom."

"Of course, Henry. I'll leave you be for now. If you need anything, lunch, if you get hungry, just let someone know. They'll bring you something." Whale was thanked again before he left.

Henry walked to his adoptive mother's room, unaware as to how much he was shaking and how hard his heart was hammering in his throat. The sight that greeted him did little to relieve his apprehension. Regina was unconscious on one of the hospital beds, clad in one of the ugly gowns. She was horribly pale, which only served the throw the unsightly scratches down her face into sharp relief.

An IV was hooked up to her arms, and he could see bruises under her skin from where the nurses had to hold her down. Her feet were wrapped in thick, gauzy bandages, and the sound of Regina's heart beeping on the monitor was not slow and steady like his other mother's. It was irregular, speeding up and slowing down and sort of skipping.

He stumbled in, tripping over his feet a little. He quickly scooped up one of her hands, exhaling a breath, some of the tension leaving his body. Her skin was still warm, though slightly clammy, but nothing like Emma's perpetually frozen body. That warmth was comforting to him.

"Hey. It's me, Henry. I don't know if you can hear me, or whatever, but I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you, Mom. Not for a long while." He reached out a trembling hand, almost placing it on her scabbed cheek, but he withdrew it. He was afraid of touching her wounds.

"I don't know what's happening to you, but I'm gonna fix you." He blew out a sigh. "Where's your Savior to save you when you need her?"

Henry was picking at one of the hospital lunches, leafing through one of the comics that Ms Blanchard had dropped off for him while she was on her own lunch break. He was reading about the Incredible Hulk when the rhythmic tapping of a cane caught his attention.

Mr Gold was standing in the doorway, a small bunch of flowers in his hands. "May I come in, Henry?"

"Sure, Mr Gold. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just passing on my wishes for a speedy recovery for the mayor here."

"Seriously?" Henry fixed him with a look of deep skepticism. He wasn't under the impression that either adult had any fondness for the other. He was also fairly certain that were their roles reversed, Regina wouldn't bother coming to visit him, let alone bring flowers.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"What makes you say that?" he responded with cool curiosity.

"You're bringing _Regina_ flowers? C'mon, why are you really here? Do you know what's happening to my mom?"

Gold never faltered at Henry's blatant accusation toward his less-than-friendly relationship with the mayor. "As a matter of fact, Henry, I do know what's wrong." He saw the boys face light up with a swirl of hope, fear and curiosity. "However, I cannot tell you what it is."

"What? But she's my mom!"

"I understand, but this isn't something for you to hear. Please, trust me on this."

Henry narrowed his eyes at the older man. "You still didn't tell me why you're here."

Gold chuckled at Henry's tenacity. He truly was the son of Regina and Emma. "I came here to ask a favor of you."

"_What?_"

"Yes. I know how to fix all that is happening to your mother here, but I need you to do something for me first."

"What is it?"

"I need you to have the mayor moved into Miss Swan's room. I need them to be kept close."

"Why?" Henry's eyes remained narrowed, and he regarded Gold closely. If there was one thing he learned from Regina, it was how to see past masks, considering that she herself had worn many for her son. She unknowingly taught him to identify when someone was hiding something. But Gold seemed earnest in his intentions.

"You know that Regina is Emma's True Love, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Then she should be with her True Love. It will help stabilize her while she's unconscious and ensure that she's lucid when she wakes."

"Really?"

"I am certain of it. The rest I will take care of myself."

"You?"

"I cannot tell you any more, Henry. I wish I could, but it's not information for you."

"Wait. Why do you think I will be able to get them to move Mom to Emma's room?"

"Because, Henry, you're their son. No one has more say than you do."

"But... I'm just a kid."

Mr Gold smiled down at his confused expression. "Exactly. Children have this curious ability to get what they want. I know you'll be able to do this."

"You're... You're not going to hurt her, are you?" Henry felt suddenly small and vulnerable.

"Emma cannot wake without Regina. I would not dream of hurting her, my boy. I'll be back when she's awake."

"How will you know?"

Gold just smirked knowingly at Henry before limping away. It left him feeling nervous and unsettled. He wanted to trust Mr Gold because he wanted his mother back, Gold never made himself feel very trustworthy. All the same, he was given a task, and Henry was never one to back down from what needed to be done.

It took a little while to convince Dr Whale that Regina needed to be moved to Emma's room, but a few white lies, some puppy-eyed pleading and a handful of well-timed tears later, Regina's bed was being wheeled to the ward Emma was housed in.

He flitted nervously around them, telling the nurses moving the brunette to place her bed directly next to the blonde's. He insisted that he needed them together, trembling his lip and making his eyes watery. Gold was right; kids _did_ have a way of getting what they wanted.

Once Regina was settled in beside her sheriff and all of the nurses left, Henry stopped to look at both of them lying together. Something was off, though. He could feel that Regina was in no way more stable where she was than in the other room.

He stared at them, turning over Gold's words in his head, trying to figure out what he needed to do. The pawnshop owner had said that Regina needed to be close to Emma. Well, she's close to her now, so what's missing? He stared at his mothers, wracking his brain.

Something surfaced in his memory. Something from this morning when he first stood outside the room. That nurse was pulling bloody sheets off of his birthmother, implying that his other mother had been laying in bed with her. Emma was cold, Regina was hot. His brain clicked for the second time that day.

He climbed up, sitting on the crease between the two beds. He picked up the sheriff's left hand, set it in the center, then placed the mayor's right hand over it. The change was audible. Emma's heart monitor started beeping faster, while Regina's fell into a more regular pace. He looked at the softly-glowing screens hovering above his adoptive mother. He didn't know what any of them really meant, but that he knew he saw everything settling into a normal range.

He didn't want their hands to separate, so he rummaged through the drawers and cabinets in the room until he found a spool of medical tape. Hopping back up onto the beds, Henry wasted no time in taping the hands of his mothers together. It looked silly, but he knew he was doing the right thing.

"I love you," he murmured.

Regina's mouth felt...dry. She was aware that her eyes were still closed, but she wasn't ready to open them just yet. She took in a deep breath, noticing just how badly everything in her body seemed to be aching. She smacked her lips a few times, trying to return some saliva to her parched mouth.

Regina still didn't open her eyes. She took another painful breath, smelling sweat, flowers and hospital. A curious sound reached her ears. She heard the very distinct tone of a heart monitor, but it had the strangest rhythm. No... It was two monitors she was hearing. One that was following her own. The person the other heart monitor belonged to she didn't know.

She tried to lift her hand to rub her eyes and encourage her lids to open up, but something heavy was attached to it. Her fingers seemed stuck together as well. Something luke-warm was under her palm, and she had no idea what it was or why it was there.

The need to know what was stuck to her was powerful enough that she was able to pry her leaden eyelids open. It was fairly dark in the room, telling her that it was night. She lifted her head, turning it to the side to examine her hand. A curious sight greeted her bleary eyes.

It seemed to be bound atop another hand. Her eyes moved slowly up a toned arm, skating over a hospital gown equally hideous as the one on her own body. She took in blonde curls, and the blank face that she knew every detail of met Regina's gaze.

Her eyes shot open, trying to sit up, but slammed herself back onto the mattress, pain rippling through her. She grunted loudly, her temper rising. The brunette impatiently, but slowly, shifted herself into a more upright position. She was about to reach over and tear the tape away from her hand, but the pain in her arm stopped.

She looked down at it, and noticed all of the purple blemishes, some of them clearly hand and finger shaped made her gasp. "What the hell happened to me?" She looked at her other arm and saw similar markings. The mayor shifted her eyes to her feet, which were heavily bandaged. She huffed with frustration.

Gritting her teeth and ignoring the pain - because Regina Mills was stubborn like that - she once again made to remove the tape binding her to the Savior. But when she looked closely, she saw something scribbled on the bands of tape: _Don't take it off. Feel better! -Henry_

Regina frowned down at the message. Why on earth was she not supposed to unbind her hand? She moved to run her free fingers through her hair, but hissed in pain again. She fumbled around with the hand that was not her dominant one until she found a little button to page a nurse. The mayor needed answers and pain killers.

She had put her head back down onto the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the heavy throbbing in her head. She heard the door open. "Finally, it took you long enough. I'm in pain. Fix that."

"Do say 'please,' your Majesty."

Regina's head shot up, her eyes widening in shock, but her lip quickly turned upward in a snarl. "What the hell do you think you're doing here, Rumple?"

"I'm here to help you remedy this little debacle you've gotten yourself into."

"What?"

"Finding yourself in places that you don't remember going to? Well," he sneered, his eyes traveling down her body. "I'd say your feet certainly remember."

"Get to the point, Rumple."

"Manners, Majesty." He was having entirely too much fun toying with the brunette.

"Say 'please'... _please_."

Before Regina could stop herself, she found the word bubbling out of her lips, "Please."

"That's better." He walked over to Regina's bed, that smug smirk never leaving his face. "You, your Majesty, don't seem to know enough about True Love." Regina scoffed at his words. "Tell me, is a person genuinely whole without their True Love?"

Not sure what the imp was getting at, the decided to play along. "Of course not. They need each other to survive. If one of them is-"

"Perhaps put under a Sleeping Curse, the other is severed from them."

"Until the curse is broken. Broken by True Love's Kiss."

"Precisely, but what you don't seem to realize, Regina, is what happens if that curse is _not_ broken."

"I don't understand."

"That's rather obvious. What you don't know is that the longer a person is severed from their True Love, the more unstable they become."

"What?"

"Yes, and in our land, that happens at an extremely slow rate. It can take decades for that to happen. In addition to that, the stronger the bond, the slower the process. Take Snow White and her dear Prince Charming." Gold did not fail to notice the way Regina's jaw tightened at the mention of the woman she hated so much. "Had her prince not found her, he would find himself losing himself over a very long period of time.

"It wouldn't show for a very long time, but the prince would always feel unbalanced. Eventually, he would lose his mind, having lost what completes and grounds him. Although," his brow creased thoughtfully. "Perhaps never for Charming, considering just how much he loves his Snow White.

"Or dear Princess Abigail and her gold knight. Had her fiancé not gotten that water from lake so jealously guarded by the siren, thirty or so years later, Midas' daughter would cease to be."

"What's your point?" Regina was at the end of her patience, her head was pounding and he was seriously getting on her nerves.

"The point is, Regina, you and I both know that magic is unstable in this world. Things don't work the same way here. You and I know who your True Love is. And by being in contact with her, she's keeping you grounded... for now. But this isn't our world, and the instability of magic, plus how weak your bond with the sheriff currently is, it would appear that the severance process has been sped up. Drastically."

"So you're saying," Regina started, trying to use a tone that suggested that she didn't believe a word he was saying.

"You, Majesty, have a very limited amount of time. You know what you have to do. I suggest you do it, and quickly."

"Why should I listen to you? What makes me think I will trust a single thing you say?"

"Let me put it this way, then. Imagine what will Henry do if he loses _both_ of his mothers?"

**Again, I have Tumblr if y'all are interested, hit me up here: writers-dilemma. tumblr **


	14. The Final Push - Part 1

**I apologize for the long wait, but this whole chapter, and the coming one, has been incredibly difficult for me to write. I should have Part 2 up by tomorrow or Monday at the latest. Thank you all so much for your patience and kind words! Please enjoy!**

Gold left a speechless Regina, walking away wearing that knowing smirk of his that drove the former Queen nuts. Her stomach twisted like a wad of worms on LSD. The information he gave her had indeed been something the mayor had known nothing of. Her first instinct was doubt. Trusting Rumplestiltskin wasn't something that Regina was in the habit of doing.

And yet, his words gnawed at her. She knew something was wrong with her. Wherever the mysterious - and seemingly violent - fits she kept having were coming from, she couldn't say. For all she knew, the imp had been offering up a story to conveniently fill in the gaps, just to get her to play his game. The game he had them all playing from the start.

She ground her teeth in frustration. Madness from being magically cut from one's True Love? It was completely... Well, if Regina was being honest with herself, it didn't sound implausible. She had heard stories of men and women, both great heroes and simple folk alike, having fallen to lunacy when their love was taken from them. Some even died, though they would simply say that they died of a broken heart.

She growled to herself. Those were coincidences and rumors. If that were true, why had she not gone mad when her mother had crushed... The brunette swallowed hard. A tiny voice whispered in her ear, _You and I both know that Daniel was not your True Love, dear. You were children, and he was your _First Love_. Don't deny what you have spent decades running from._

She shook her head, hard, looking like she was trying to throw a wasp from her scalp. Her eyes fell to the woman beside her, and Regina busied herself by glaring at the blonde out of spite. Usually, the sheriff had given the mayor damn good reasons to earn gazes full of ire. At that moment, though, she just needed something to be angry at.

If, and only _if_, Gold's words held any truth, and what he had told her did apply to Regina... She wasn't sure she could handle the truth. That would mean that the unbelievably aggravating woman bound to her by medical tape was her... No. She refused to say it, let alone think it.

The brunette was about to reach over and peel back her binding, but the words scribbled across it caught her eyes again. Henry had come here, not just for Emma, but for her as well. She did not know the extent of what Rumple told him - and yes, she knew that he had audacity to meddle with her son - but he came to make sure that she was safe.

Her anger ebbed slightly, thinking of the boy she thought she lost actually coming to her aid, and then she snorted, because he clearly got that from his Charming lineage. She felt Emma's fingers shift slightly, parting enough to allow her own to slip between them. She felt, and heard, her heart jump slightly. The movement seemed so _intentional_.

Usually, when the Savior moved against her, it felt like jerks and the unconscious twitches of an unconscious woman. Yet, this simple shift unnerved the woman who nonetheless allowed her fingers to lace with Emma's. When she squeezed slightly to see what would happen, the blonde's heart jumped too.

Without warning a large, mischievous grin spread across her face as a thought blossomed in her mind. She was thinking of the positively _mortified_ expression that would cross Snow's face if she found out that her daughter was with the Evil Queen. She could imagine the almost sheepish smile on Emma's face, while Snow's eyes bounced between the Queen and the Savior, her mouth stupidly agape with shock and horror.

A small chuckle escaped her throat as Regina rested her head back on her pillows, closing her eyes. The dumbfounded look on Charming's face while his hapless wife babbled incessantly, trying to get her precious Emma to rethink her choice was a delicious vision indeed. She imagined that she would move in close to the blonde, slide her hand into the sheriff's and lean in to plant a small, but victorious, kiss upon the cheek of the woman beside her.

Regina found her mouth suddenly dry, and her tongue came out to lick her lips. She cracked open her eyes, turning her gaze to Emma Swan once more, lying still as the grave. She frowned, her stomach writhing once more. She wanted nothing more than to roll over, facing her back to the person she was now rooming with, but their hands were still taped together.

Like a petulant child, Regina huffed, reached over, wincing at the pain, and peeled back the medical tape. She extracted her fingers from the blonde's, rubbing her itchy, oxygen-starved skin. Emma's heart slowed again.

Regina suddenly felt as though she was slightly tipsy. It felt like her focus had had a chunk of it torn off. With that, her thoughts didn't feel quite so clear or organized, and her head felt like a Jenga tower on the verge of toppling. She was sure that if she could stand, she would feel wobbly and unbalanced. Regina shook herself, rolling over to face away from the infuriating woman. She just needed some sleep to steady herself.

Regina was awoken by soft knocking against glass. She sat bolt upright, almost crying out in pain, but no one would see her do so. Instead her eyes tightened considerably along with her jaw. She saw a nurse opening the door, looking timid and wearing an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Mayor Mills. I didn't mean to wake you, but I've got to do my rounds." The woman had a small cart full of supplies behind her.

Regina didn't bother to give any sort of answer or show any acceptance of apology. She lay back down, crossing her hands over her midsection, staring up at the ceiling. The nurse busied herself with her duties, changing the IV bag, clothing and waste on Emma. Regina stared almost unblinkingly upward, refusing to watch any of what was going on beside her.

Every time the mayor previously saw her new roommate, it had been late at night, when no one was around, and Emma always looked the same as ever. Watching someone else take care of everything that the sheriff herself was unable to do, thanks to the Sleeping Curse, made it somehow so much more real just how completely helpless the Savior was. In addition to that, it added a level of guilt that Regina was definitely not ready to feel.

She still felt kind of like her brain was mushy from having drunk too much alcohol, but she knew she hadn't. It must be a combination of tiredness and whatever drugs she was probably on at the moment.

"What time is it?" she asked sharply.

The woman glanced at her watch. "A little after five. Anything I can do? Are you hungry? In pain?"

"I... I need to use the restroom." Regina chastised herself for the flush creeping up her cheeks at her statement.

"No problem, Mayor Mills. I'll have someone come right away!" She walked over to a little pager and called for another nurse and a wheelchair. She smiled at the brunette before continuing her duties. Within minutes a man in purple scrubs pushing one of those infernal chairs showed up.

She had not felt so embarrassed in a long time, struggling to climb out of bed until he simply put his arms under her and gently carried her to the chair. He smiled, and looked upon her with no judgment, but the brunette could not fight the deep scowl etching her features. He wheeled her the short distance to the bathroom, and he was about to push her in and help her onto the toilet, but the thought of that was so revolting that she pushed herself in, slamming the door in his face.

There was no lock on it, and Regina glared at the doorknob as though it had insulted her. Grunting slightly with soreness, she got herself to the toilet, and with significant pain, some cursing and a little awkward shimmying, she got herself onto the toilet.

The mayor knew that she should have let the stupid nurse help her go to the bathroom, but her pride was not to be damaged. She missed her magic, ruing her inability to heal herself. She glowered moodily at the red button on the wall in case of an emergency.

Some minutes later, the mayor found herself back in the room with Emma, and once she was placed back in her bed, she was alone with the woman once more. She found herself feeling oddly envious of the fact that, though the sheriff was enduring greater indignities than she was, at least the blonde wasn't awake for any of it.

She found herself tempted to touch Emma's hand, but pulled away from the thought. It was one thing when she was visiting the Savior in the dead of night, but being there with her all the time was doing nothing for her mood. She felt like she was being forced to think about her feelings, question herself and why couldn't she just focus on just one thing? Her mind was racing, and it put her ill at ease.

She managed to fall back into a restless sleep, having dreams of Henry screaming at her while Emma lay dead on the floor of her royal bedchamber. She would end up cowering in the corner, hands over her ears, trying to block out the deafening fury of Henry's bellows. Regina's eyes snapped open and then cringed at the clear autumn sun flooding their room.

She tried stretching herself and stopped after feeling the dull aches shooting through her limbs and the hot tendrils of fire stabbing up from her bandaged feet. Right, how could she forget that she was once again crippled? She moved to prop herself upright when her hand landed on Emma's.

She jerked it away, startled by the coldness she wasn't expecting to feel. Her arm remained suspended while she stared down at the offending hand. It was resting casually on her bed, but her palm was facing up, instead of flat on the sheets like it always was. That slight change in position completely unnerved the brunette. It seemed like an invitation, or a quiet beseeching.

She had been housed with the unconscious Savior for less than twenty-four hours and it already felt like Emma was intruding. That thought was ridiculous, of course, because how could she be? She was cursed. Could her suddenly close and constant proximity to the woman be causing this? Hadn't Emma always responded to Regina's touch? Hadn't she always- No.

She cursed under her breath that she had allowed Rumple to get under her skin so easily. His words were meant to manipulate her into doing something that was probably another part of his grand plan, one that she was thoroughly sick of playing.

Regina shifted, and placed her hand beside Emma's, definitely not on the offered hand. The mayor realized that there was absolutely nothing in the room to distract her from her still-racing thoughts and put her mind at ease. No news papers, no books, hell, she would even settle for a magazine.

Then, as though knowing how impossibly bored she would soon become, Henry knocked on the glass with a nervous-looking Mary Margaret standing behind him. Her face split into a wide smile, and she motioned for him to come in.

"Hey, Mom!"

"Henry! I'm so glad to- shouldn't you be in school?"

He rolled his eyes at her, going to sit next to his birthmother. "I don't have to be there for about 15 minutes. I wanted to check on you."

It was not lost on Regina the way he moved instinctively to Emma's side, or how his eyes kept looking upon her face with what appeared to be trace amounts of horror, or how there was the slight note of disappointment to his voice.

"Thank you, Henry. For coming to see me."

"What did Mr Gold tell you?"

Regina's head snapped up in surprise at the blunt question that was so casually tossed her way. "What do you mean?"

"He said he was gonna help you, but he wouldn't tell me what was going on." He frowned, having never liked being kept in the dark.

"He... He didn't say anything to me." She was lying straight through her teeth again, and she hated herself for doing so. But Rumple was right, Henry did not need to know the information relayed to her.

"Why are you lying to me?" He glared at her, calling her out in a way that definitely screamed Emma.

"I'm not lying to you, Henry. I don't-"

His eyes widened. "Your hands! How come they're not together?"

Regina mentally let out a sigh of relief that he was distractible enough - another trait he clearly inherited from his mother - to let her out of an impending, difficult accusation. "The tape got itchy, dear. And the nurses can't do their jobs if we're stuck together." She smiled sweetly at the boy still putting her under heavy scrutiny.

"But I told you not to! Didn't you see what I wrote?"

"Of course I did, but I can't just stay like that."

"When are you going to see? When will you realize what you need to do?"

"Henry..."

"You promised me. You promised me you'd try."

"No, I promised you that I would think about it.

"How much time can you need? Emma's been like this for a month now! Of course..." He snorted, looking away from the brunette trying to understand him. "You _would_ be that selfish. You're the Evil Queen."

"Henry, don't talk like that. I am Regina, and these things aren't so simple-"

"No, you're just being a coward! Here," he tossed a small bag onto Regina's lap. "I have to go to school." Without another word and not even looking at his adoptive mother, Henry stood up and marched out of the little hospital room.

Regina woke up late one night, a hot surge of tight pain from her foot rousing her. She propped herself up, never opening her eyes, groaning from the sensation, waiting until it ebbed away to a point where she could once again ignore it. After the angry stabbing had receded, the brunette flopped down. Something cold and lumpy was underneath her.

Her eyes snapped open, and Regina gasped to find herself curled around Emma's unconscious form. It was three days into her hospitalization, and nothing quite like this had happened before. There were times when she would wake up from naps or nightmares to find her fingers laced with the blonde's, or clutching at the woman's arm, but where she found herself now was an entirely new development.

She stayed frozen where she was, torn between all of the things screaming in her head. Part of her was exhausted, sore and lonely, and she would love nothing more than to curl up with the Savior and drift away again. But the rest of Regina's mind was hounding her to pull away. How could she be so weak? And what if she were found sleeping like that with the sheriff?

It was a bad idea. She propped herself up on one arm again, studying the woman below her closely. There was nothing different about her. Her arms were by her side, her face impassive, and the only difference was that the sheets over her were a little mussed from Regina's limbs tangled over them.

"How do you break me down to nothing when you aren't even awake?" She sighed loudly. "You should be. You should be conscious to counter me, and make me see once more that you are my enemy, not my..." She bit her lip, battling over the word that was threatening to make itself known to both women. "...Anchor." Regina lowered her eyes in a dark scowl, ashamed of herself.

She huffed loudly, completely pulling away from the troublesome woman. She leaned over to the little nightstand beside her bed and pulled a book of Sudoku puzzles from the bag that Henry had brought her. Normally she was remarkably fast at solving them, having liked math and the way numbers fit so seamlessly together. She liked doing other puzzles as well, like crosswords, but they were more ambiguous and less logical. Regina was a calculating woman, and the patterns of the digits suited her just fine.

She frowned at the Sudoku she was currently working on. The little squares seemed to be taunting her. It was her second day working on this one, and still the answers eluded her. Her eraser was starting to run low. There was nothing different or particularly challenging about the puzzle before her, so there was no earthly reason to be struggling with it in the way that she was.

Yet, every time Regina tried to see a pattern, puzzle out the math, she found that her mind was somewhere else entirely. It was thinking about Daniel, then Henry, then Cora, followed by her horrific marriage to the king, then Emma, then Henry again, The Enchanted Forest, Crushing her first heart, Daniel's turning to dust. Graham's betrayal. kissing Emma, Rumple's manipulations, Cora, her father, Daniel's lips, Emma's lips, Snow biting the apple, pushing her mother through the mirror. Sending so many children to the Blind Witch, Henry running away from her...

Regina bent over the edge of the bed, retching and watching yellowish bile dribble from her mouth onto the floor. She hung over the edge, unsure if there was more to come. Her head was pounding, and a slight sheen of sweat peppered her brow. She couldn't remember the last time she threw up, and it left her feeling ever so slightly helpless, sensing the smallest desire to want to be taken care of. She hit the little button to page a nurse. Her sick needed to be cleaned up, and Regina really wanted something to knock her out.

Regina picked at the breakfast she was brought. The coffee was watery, the eggs were tasteless and her bagel was, well, she couldn't quite bring herself to even classify it as a bagel. The only thing that she had consumed entirely from her tray was the little cup of applesauce.

A nurse came in about a half hour later to pick up her tray, and Dr Whale was following closely behind. He met her gaze with a smile that didn't quite make its way to his eyes.

"Doctor," Regina said curtly.

"Good morning, Madame Mayor. Not very hungry this morning?" He eyed the tray of mostly-uneaten food.

"It's a wonder I haven't starved to death, considering what poor excuses for food you keep serving me."

"This is a hospital, not a five-star restaurant. Maybe your boy will bring you a treat from Granny's. Funny," he said without humor. "I haven't seen him here for _you_, in a few days."

"What?"

"Well, he seems to make he visits his birthmother while you're napping. Strange that he doesn't feel the need to wake you," he sneered. Regina shot him the most venomous look she could muster, her mouth opening to retort, but he cut her off. "But I'm sure that's a talk for you to have with Henry. I am here to have a look at your feet."

The mayor chewed on her tongue, biting back all of the fury that was welling within her. His groin was mere inches from her heel, and she wanted nothing more than to slam it into him. The only thing that stopped her was the image of Henry's disappointed face.

Whale gently pulled back the wrappings, and Regina clenched her fists slightly at the sudden onslaught of cold air on the soles of her feet. His brow knit together while he studied her healing wounds.

"Is something wrong?"

"Tell me, have you felt any unusual tightness in the skin around your injuries?"

"Yes, I have. Is something wrong?" she repeated with a little more harshness to notify him of her rapidly depleting patience.

"Well... it would appear that your stitches are ready to come out, and you've healed at an alarmingly fast rate."

Regina sat up on her elbows looking hard at the doctor. "What did you say?"

"Your stitches, some of them have already popped open. I need to remove them immediately. I'm not sure what's happening, but I want to keep you here for the remainder of the day for observation. Once we see how you're doing, we might be able to discharge you tomorrow."

The mayor's head snapped back. "Really?"

"Yes. I'm going to have someone come see you today to test how well you walk. Once we gauge your progress with that, then we can really talk about when we can discharge you."

The former Queen knew what she needed to do. It didn't matter if it killed her to walk on her own two feet, she was going to do it, and show no pain. Masking her feelings was something she perfected decades ago, doing this would be a cakewalk - no pun intended - She just needed to get out of the tiny hospital room and away from Emma.

Once again, Regina endured the uncomfortable sensation of sutures being severed a pulled away, but from both feet this time. Whale was quick and quiet, knowing the mayor was in no mood for idle banter. Especially after the comments he made about Henry. He finished, observed his handiwork and held up a mirror for Regina to see.

The bottoms of her feet were definitely going to bear heavy scars, and these were going to be scars that the woman was glad weren't going to be shown to many. Though she wore the history of her battles proudly, these blemishes were not ones of triumph or strength. What was happening to her was something she desperately wanted to keep quiet, despite the fact that the whole town already knew something was up. The mayor was simply glad that the only ones who genuinely knew the truth were Rumple and herself, not that she believed a word the imp had told her.

Regina was flexing and wiggling her feet, enjoying the fact that they were no longer bound, nor required to be kept as still as possible. She wasn't a particularly fidgety woman - those habits had been forcibly subdued by her mother; no queen fidgets - but the brunette found that the longer she was supposed to remain still or composed, the stronger the desire to do so became. So, since having stitches again, she wasn't supposed to move her feet too much. In combination with her unusually-restless thoughts, all the brunette wanted to do was fret her feet around.

Now that she freed, she was busy getting all the squirms out of her system while she could. No one told her when a physical therapist was supposed to show up to see how well she could walk, but Regina was starting to get desperate. She was a woman of action, and lying around wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

The brunette was busy tapping her toes to a made up rhythm, trying to ignore the growing ache pounding over her left eye. Her brain still felt like a slideshow of her past put on fast-forward. Each memory, action and face made itself known just long enough for her to recognize it before dashing away to reveal the next image.

She rubbed her eyes, vainly hoping that would help to alleviate the pain threatening to spread throughout her skull. Regina pulled her hands away and looked at them, forcing herself to concentrate. She knew why Henry had put their hands together, even if he wasn't privy to that information. Rumple said that she was losing it because she was cut off from Emma. The Savior grounded her, and Henry knew it. She made a promise to only person she truly loved in her life.

Regina placed her hand on top of the blonde's and heard the responding jump in heartbeat. The brunette felt the intensity of her headache recede slightly, and maelstrom of thoughts crashing around her brain seemed to settle like the pieces on a Boggle board finally fall into place. Nothing was organized, and her emotions felt strained, but things felt a little more _right_ for Regina in that moment.

**Again, I have a Tumblr for those of you who are interested, link is here: writers-dilemma. tumblr **


	15. The Final Push - Part 2

**Thanks again, everyone for being by me while I write this story. It's been so amazing, and this really was a difficult chapter. I am happy with it, and I know you will be too. So, without further delay, enjoy!**

The physical therapist scheduled to see the mayor arrived shortly after 1pm. He was a kindly-looking man in his mid-fifties and well-dressed. A wheelchair was in front of him while he smiled at the brunette. He helped her out of the bed and down onto the chair, saying very little, which was good, because Regina definitely wasn't in the mood for chatting. She wanted to get the tests over with so she could go home.

"So, that's an unusual arrangement you've got back there," he said lightly while pushing her down the hall.

"Yes, well, my son insisted that the sheriff and I room together."

"Children are interesting like that. Did he say why?"

"No," Regina lied.

"Kids can be...enigmatic like that."

"I love my son, and I would do anything and everything in the world for him." A hot wave of guilt washed over her. "If that means sharing a room with that...woman, then I will. And I have, clearly."

"You must take excellent care of him. I bet he's visited you a lot while you've been here." His words were like lemon juice on a paper cut.

"Yes, he's been...very affectionate," she lied again.

"It must be nice to have that kind of love in your life. Anyway, here we are! Let's get you walking, Ms Mills."

They entered a small, brightly-lit room. There was a table along the eastern wall, accompanied by several chairs. A long railing ran along the wall straight ahead of her, and two sets of railings parallel to each other ran down the middle of the room, and the western wall was made entirely of mirrors.

The therapist, who introduced himself as Rodger, positioned the brunette's chair in front of the parallel rails, facing the wall of mirrors so that she could watch herself walk. He helped her out of the wheelchair, a small, encouraging smile playing across his lips. He could tell that she was reluctant to take the hands he offered, but he reassured the woman that he was only going to guide her to the railings.

The rest went fairly smoothly from there. Regina found that there was minimal pain her feet, nothing she couldn't manage. Her legs were kind of shaky, but she really only needed the railings for two laps before she was holding her hands above them and walking with no support.

They were together for less than an hour before Roger was confident that Regina was indeed healed and strong enough to mobile unaided. He walked her back to the little room, chatting lightly now that the mayor was in a much better mood. She was holding herself high, looking just about as regal as she usually did on any given day.

She saw the curtains drawn around Emma's bed, and her heart jumped into her throat, fearing something bad. She quelled that thought immediately, remembering that the sheriff needed to be bathed by her caretakers. She had been present for these bathings before, and felt no desire intrude upon any more of them.

The mayor snuck into the room, grabbed her regular clothes and walked to the bathroom. It was time to get rid of the infernal hospital gowns that she had been made to wear for the past four days. She shed the shapeless garment and slipped into her neatly-pressed slacks and cashmere blouse, and breathed a contented sigh of relief.

Regina walked over to the mirror, intending to try and tame her hair, but stopped when she looked closely at her reflection. She knew that she had carved up her face during the incident that landed her in the hospital, but she had been avoiding mirrors for that exact reason.

The entire reflective wall in the physical therapy room she was in had presented a bit of a problem, but her reflection was dwarfed by distance, and she did everything she could not to look at her face.

But here, she was standing and right in front of the glass. She could not avoid it any further. When Regina's brown eyes lifted to look at the woman staring back, her mouth fell open in complete horror. She knew that the scratches weren't pretty; she had rubbed the scabs many times while wiping the sleep from her eyes.

Before her was a face with eight lengthy, jagged, red lines dragging down the features of her hard face. Some of the scabs were peeling, and now Regina understood why Henry was having a hard time looking at her. She looked like she got on the wrong side of Ruby during Wolf's Time.

Strange, she thought, that the gashes on her feet should heal as quickly as they did, but the scrapes across her face made no sign of following suit. She shifted, averting her eyes, repulsed by her own appearance. She needed to leave. Immediately. Regina wanted to get back to the privacy of her mansion where she could heal in peace.

She stormed out of the bathroom, internally wincing every time one of her feet slammed into the hard ground. She gathered up her belongings with a furious haste. Regina was checking out, and no one was going to stop her. She was about to leave the tiny room, when she stopped.

The mayor turned around to look at the blonde. Something stirred in her chest, and felt suddenly as though she was abandoning the sheriff, just like everyone else did in Emma's life. That thought disturbed Regina, and her chest constricted even tighter. This was dangerous, her head was aching and she just needed to get home. Whatever words may have been on her lips died in her newfound rush to leave the hospital.

The mayor found herself back in her mansion, stiff drink in hand and Ibuprofen on board. The emptiness of her home since Henry left usually bothered her, but in that moment, the quiet was a soothing balm. No beeping instruments, no nurses coming in to check on her or Emma at all hours of the day, no more substandard hospital food. Just peace and comfort.

Regina sank down into her favorite armchair, coffee with a healthy dose of Bailey's beside her and Tamora Pierce's _Wild Magic_ in her hand. She knew it was a kid's book, but reading stories about what the people of this world imagined magic to be like was always one of her guilty pleasures.

Though her mind was still racing, and her headache never fully disappeared, the brunette was starting to feel much more relaxed than she had been for the past few days. Yes, space from the troublesome blonde and everyone else was definitely what she needed, along with a few creature comforts.

She was just starting to think about taking a hot shower when the sound of the lock on her front door clicking open met her sensitive ears. She froze, hearing the door swinging open, waiting to hear any other sounds the intruder might make.

"Mom?" She heard the door swing shut. "Mom, are you home?"

It was Henry! "Yes, dear! I'm coming!" She rushed into the foyer, swooping down to give her son a tight hug. He only half-heartedly returned the embrace.

"You're...You're walking!"

"Yes! Dr Whale said that I healed remarkably fast." It wasn't lost on Regina how Henry still had trouble looking at her marred face.

"You left?"

"Of course, dear. There was no sense in me staying there when it was no longer necessary."

"But I thought..."

"What were you thinking?" She already knew what he was musing about. It seemed to be the only thing Henry wanted to discuss with her.

"I just thought that if you were with Emma long enough, you would see..."

"Henry, I've tried to tell you that this isn't some fantasy. Kissing Emma will not wake her up, and-"

"How would you know if you haven't even _tried!_ You promised, Mom! If you break this promise, I'm never going to talk to you again!" He glared fiercely at her with a steady determination that would have made the Evil Queen proud, were it not directed at her. Regina's temper flared. She had just started to relax, feel a little more normal, and the presence of her son magnified that, until now.

"You didn't even talk to me before!" she spat without thinking. She clapped her hands to her mouth at the shocked look on his face. "Henry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!" But he was gone, and all she saw was the door to 108 Mifflin slamming shut.

She fell to her knees where she stood, hands still masking her mouth, hot tears splashing down her face. When had things spun so out of control for her? The sting of her tears in some of the scabs seemed to shake her from her moment of weakness, but instead of recomposing herself like she normally did, Regina flew into a full-blown tantrum. She started screaming, throwing anything she could get her hands on, slamming her fists into as many solid objects near her that she could reach until her knuckles bled, leaving ugly smears on her perfect home.

Regina was in the bathroom, running icy water over her maimed hands. It never failed to amaze the woman how the smallest drop of blood spread so far in a large amount of water. She watched as the sanguine liquid swirled around the drain before disappearing.

Her head was pounding harder than a blacksmith at the anvil, and the thought of applying peroxide to her new wounds was less than appealing. There was little point in keeping her hands under the cold stream any longer; it was only preventing the splits from clotting.

She turned off the faucet and watched as fresh blood swiftly wicked through the rivulets of water that still clung to her skin. She pulled a tissue from a box on the back of the toilet and wiped it all away, leaving the blood simply well over the wounds.

Regina had already pulled out gauze pads, peroxide, Neosporin and bandages ahead of time. She poured some of the peroxide onto a fresh gauze pad and dabbed lightly at the knuckles on her left hand. She hissed through her teeth, the liquid burning like fire. Regina found herself pressing harder and over a slightly larger area; the pain felt real and tangible. It was grounding. It was loud enough for her to push back all of the roiling thoughts clashing around in her head.

She pressed a new pad against her right hand, watching little spots of blood blossom through it, hissing once more in pain; however, this hiss seemed to be more of pleasure than hurt. She was enjoying the sensations sprinting from her hands to her brain and then back again. It was a rush.

Once she finished treating and wrapping up her knuckles, exhaustion stole over her. She wasn't expecting as much emotional and physical trauma as she had experienced, and now her frayed nerves and over-worked body were paying the price. She dragged herself from the bathroom and collapsed on her bed, not even bothering to undress.

The following day was quiet in a way that the mayor was no longer enjoying. Her headache grew increasingly persistent, the only aspect of the silence she was grateful for. Normally would have put on some soft jazz to fill the emptiness, but any noise felt like the beating of a war drum in her head.

But her hands were aching not only from splitting all of her knuckles open, but from all of the bruising that blossomed around them. The insistent, stabbing aches made cleaning up the mess from her fit even more unpleasant than it already was. She came down the stairs that morning to see shattered china, scattered books, coats torn from the closet and all manner of various objects strewn about her house. Peppered across it were the brown spots of dried blood and ugly smears on walls and cabinets.

The many long hours she spent tidying, sweeping, scrubbing and stowing Regina could not stop thinking about Henry and what she said to him. It had been cruel and spiteful, but the brunette could not find it within herself to admit that what she said was untrue, because it wasn't.

Henry had not talked to her after his birthmother fell under the Sleeping Curse. He had avoided her, moved in with her enemy, and ignored all of her calls and every attempt at contact. He only started making nice with Regina once he found out that she might be the one to wake Emma. He didn't love her. She was simply a means to an end.

But then again... He had spoken of actually having a family with his mothers if Regina woke the Savior. However, he might have said that to whoever proved to be the blonde's True Love. His statement wasn't unique to her. She sighed heavily as she emptied the last of the evidence of her fit into the trash.

The mayor looked around her. Everything was spotless once more, but she noticed how much more bare everything felt. There were holes where things used to stand, photos in frames missing from shelves and all other knick-knacks that decorated her home.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mary Margaret's number, hoping she could take to Henry and apologize. The number of unanswered rings piled up until she heard the irritating woman's sickly-sweet voice on her voice mail. Regina had a long rant lined up, but thought once again about her son. Instead, she hit the End button and pocketed the device.

It was late in the evening, around a quarter after 11, and the mayor was lounging on a bench out on her back patio. She was nursing a glass of very dry red wine, enjoying the cold, salty Maine air and admiring her apple tree from afar.

For the first time since those fleeting hours earlier that morning Regina Mills felt a little more at ease. Yes, she was still kicking herself for what she said to Henry, and her body never failed to tell her that it was in disrepair, but it was quiet, the crickets were singing and the wine was pulling the tension from her body.

"Nice evening, isn't it?" a voice she had not heard for decades, but knew like no other sounded next to her. Regina looked to her left, and Daniel was sitting beside her, smiling softly. She was so startled that a yelp escaped her lips and she fell off the bench.

"Daniel?"

"What has happened to you, my love? Where have you gone?"

"Are you...? Are you real?" Regina remained sprawled across the dew-kissed grass, heart hammering, and fear pounding through her.

"For you, my Regina, I will always be real."

"But you're dead." Tears were running down her face.

"Oh... I suppose I am." He looked down at his chest where a gaping hole where is heart should be was spilling blood down his jerkin. "Where did you go?"

"I never left, I swear! I never stopped loving you!"

"And I never stopped loving Regina, but you're..." Tears were running down his own face now. "You're not her. You fell into despair, and by doing so lost your way. Come back to me." He held out his hand, smiling in the way he knew would disarm her completely. Regina lunged from the ground, thrusting her hand to meet his, but her fingers slid through empty air. She held her fingers in his mirage, willing them to touch.

At that moment, Henry Senior, her beloved father came to stand next to Daniel, wearing a look of deep sorrow. His weary eyes lingered on the almost-joined hands of his daughter and her former lover. "Regina..." He sighed. He too had a bleeding hole in his chest from where she ripped his heart out.

"Daddy?"

"My daughter, I was your price for this Curse."

"Daddy, I am so sorry! I-" He held up a hand to stop her.

"I was your price. You told me this would make you happy. You said this," he gestured around himself. "Was your happy ending. But, I'm looking at you, and I have been watching you, and I don't see a happy ending."

"Daddy..." she wept, still keeping her hand where Daniel's was outstretched to. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, my Regina. I think you know where your happy ending lies. You were always strong. Don't run from-" But he started choking on his words, grabbing at his throat that seemed incapable of producing any further sounds.

A heartless chuckle that Regina knew all too well came from behind her. She whipped around and saw Cora, in all of her royal raiment, standing beneath the apple tree. The smile she wore was heartless and turned her daughter's blood to ice.

"Oh, Regina. Just how many times do I have to tell you that _love is weakness?_" Cora began a slow advance, and the mayor scrambled to her feet in response, backing away, but staying in a somewhat protective stance in front of her father and lover.

"Just look at you. It's pathetic!" she spat. "I did everything to make you strong. I did everything to make you powerful. Yet, you always insist on throwing it away for something that will always betray you.

"Your stable boy is gone, you killed your huntsman, your son has abandoned you, and none of your subjects love you, Regina. You are _alone._"

Something snapped in the brunette at her mother's words about her son. "NO! I am NOT alone, Mother! I will _never_ be alone!"

The same heartless laughter echoed around them. "Oh, you think your little sheriff will stand by you? She's a runner Regina, and she has made you weak. Just look at yourself; you're nothing. You were a Queen, thanks to me, and now you're just an empty, squirming worm."

Regina felt a scream tear its way from her throat, and she flew forward swinging at her mother. Her fist sailed through more empty air, and the fallen Queen stumbled through the illusion of her mother. More bone-chilling laugher followed her.

"See? You're weak, Regina!"

The brunette turned and ran as fast as she could, trying to get as far away from the cackling that was swirling all around her. Daniel was always in front of her, holding out his hand, wearing the sad smile that broke her heart a thousand times over. But the closer she tried to advance, the farther from her drifted.

Her father hovered near her, unable to talk, but never taking his woeful eyes from his daughter. She swung out at him a few times while chasing her beloved, hating the way Henry's eyes made her feel like a little girl again.

Cora seemed to be on all sides, jeering at her, scolding her, and never ceasing in her brutal, mirthless cackling. Regina was flailing her arms, yelling at all of the apparitions of her mother, calling out for her Daniel, and spewing apologies to her mute father. Her eyes were popping, and spittle was flying from her mouth.

There was no doubt that some of the inhabitants of Storybrooke got an eyeful of their always-stoic mayor in full swing manic tantrum. It was a terrifying sight, seeing the brunette thrashing around, shrieking names and curses, looking like some wretched creature escaped from its cage. Because of that alone, none dared approach her. All just stopped and stared, feeling slightly queasy from the show being put on.

Regina followed her stable boy, completely unaware of where he was leading her. Her arms and shoulders were getting weak from her fruitless flailing, and her voice was rough and hoarse from screams and pleadings that fell on deaf ears. She eventually gave up on the punches, knowing that they were getting her nowhere. Instead, Regina covered her ears, yelling and moaning because all of the voices were in her head.

She stumbled forward toward Daniel, who still held his hand out, waiting for her to take it. She swiped out for it occasionally, hoping to connect with the man who was so savagely wrenched from her.

She collided solidly with two heavy glass doors, briefly stunned from the contact. She pushed past them, vaguely aware of where she was being led, but none of that mattered. Regina needed to get to Daniel. He would fix her, mend all of the cracks in her heart.

She clambered down the tiled hallways, occasionally slamming against a wall, her screaming diminished into croaky moans and whimpers. Her stable boy halted, lowering his hand, smiling knowingly at her.

"Daniel...?"

"It's time, Regina." His voice was clear and strong, smothering all of the jeering and cackling coming from the dozens of Cora's surrounding her.

"For what?"

"Let me show you."

He turned and strode through the glass wall to a room that she knew all too well, but wasn't concerned with at the moment. She finally found the strength to move her feet, and entered the tiny space with him. He sat down on a bed, sitting on his side and gesturing her to join him.

A smile split across Regina's blemished, bloodless face. She started to move to him when all of the Cora's materialized into one right in front of her, smiling wickedly, halting the fallen Queen in her tracks. They stood there, facing the other for several long moments, silence falling thickly around them.

And then her mother was everywhere again, but the other mirages were more translucent than the one in front of her, and that was the one that drew all of the brunette's focus. Cora turned, facing away from her daughter, landing her gaze on the still-beseeching man. Her arm rose into the air, her fingers arching severely, and it dawned on Regina what her mother was going to do in front of her again.

"NO!" The brunette flew forward, through her mother and flung herself on top of Daniel to shield him from Cora's wrath. In one cold burst of clarity, every apparition surrounding her vanished, and the only sounds were Regina's panting and the quickening heartbeat of the Savior.

She regarded the woman below her with wide eyes. Daniel led her here? To show her Emma? He said it was time. She stayed positioned over the sleeping sheriff, frozen in place. Something brought her back. The blonde brought her back. Emma Swan pulled Regina from her madness, just like Rumple had said. Just like Henry knew she would.

_Emma was her anchor._

Without thinking, Regina cupped the blonde's face in her hands, leaned down and crushed her lips to the other woman's. The heat in the Savior's lips flashed through the Queen's entire being, and all of the precarious, teetering piles of thoughts and emotions in her head fell down into neat stacks.

She heard a sharp inhale beneath her. Regina snapped her eyes open, and saw emerald ones staring back. Tears welled up at the simple presence of a gaze she didn't realize she had missed so much, and there was nothing she could do to fight back the smile the painted her lips.

"Regina?" Emma croaked. She wasn't smiling. She was just frowning with confusion at the position she found herself in. "What's happening? Where am I?"

The brunette scrambled off of the bed, face stricken with horror. She broke the Sleeping Curse. Henry was right. Rumplestiltskin was right. Regina felt like she might throw up. She clamped her hand over her mouth, afraid to say anything, tears rushing down her face once more. She turned and fled, hearing the echoes of the woman's voice chasing her down the hall.

"Regina?"

_"REGINA...!"_


	16. Awake

**Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the wait on this next chapter. I had no idea how to handle it and address all of the stuff that's going on. I hope this is satisfactory. Secondly, if there's any confusion about the state of the Curse, it's still intact. Emma is the one destined to break it, not Regina. So Regina's kiss only broke the sleeping curse. Lastly, for those of you who missed the little update I made, here's a playlist I made for this story: 8tracks writers-dilemma/are-you-gonna-stay-the-night**

Emma stared after the retreating woman, a flurry of emotions storming through her. Why the hell was that woman in her room in the middle of the night? And what the fuck was she doing sitting on top of her? More over, why the hell is she in the hospital? Where is Henry?

Emma collapses back onto her pillows, feeling weak and confused while her head starts throbbing painfully. She fumbles around with her hands until she finds the button to page a nurse. She needed answers desperately, and the longer she waited, the more she felt like she was going insane.

Dr Whale and a small herd of nurses showed up in her room almost instantaneously, but the relief she felt was quickly clouded over when she realized that they needed to examine her in a billion different ways before they would tell her what the hell was going on.

Not known for her patience, Emma swatted away a nurse, her temper flaring, despite the weakness that still weighed her down heavily. "Hey, Whale, what's going on? Why am I here?"

A quick nod from him and the nurses backed off immediately. "Emma, tell me, what's today's date?" His voice was light, cleverly masking the implications of the question.

No matter the tone of voice he used, the blonde felt like a stone settled into her stomach. She scrunched up her face in concentration. "Uh... It's August 20th or something, right?"

Whale made a note on the chart he had open in his hands. "What's the last thing that you remember?"

The stone in her stomach gained another thirty pounds. She scrunched up her face again. "I... I remember... leaving work, and I was driving to see someone. And..." She blows a frustrated puff of hair from her lips. "That's the last thing I remember."

Whale makes another note. "That's just fine, Emma. Don't force your memory."

"Sure, but will you tell me why I'm here? What happened to me?"

A small, sad smile tugs at the corners of Dr Whale's mouth. "Emma, you've been in a coma for about a month now."

"WHAT? What do you mean I've been in a coma!? Did I get in an accident? Did any one else get hurt? Wha-"

Whale silences her by placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. "If you keep up the questions, Emma, I'll never get a chance to answer." Her mouth snaps shut. "We received a 9-1-1 from Henry the night of the 21st. You were collapsed and unconscious when we arrived, but all of your vitals were strong and stable."

"H-Henry found me?" Her voice was suddenly small and fearful like a child's.

"He most certainly did."

"Is he... Is he okay?"

Whale smiled warmly at his patient. "He's doing just fine. He's been here just about every day to check on you. He's brought you flowers and hounded me like a dog for any changes in your condition."

Emma's lip trembled as hot tears sprung up in her eyes. "Really?" A watery smile broke out on her face as the tears spilled over, endlessly touched at the love he was giving her.

"Why don't you just rest for a little while? I'm going to call Mary Margaret and Henry. I'm sure they will be here in the blink of an eye."

"Thanks. Hey, uh, has Re- Never mind," she mumbled to a curious-looking Whale.

Everyone left except for one nurse who stayed to feed Emma ice chips and continue to monitor her. True to his prediction, it wasn't long before a small flurry of limbs and smiles came barreling into her room. Henry launched himself at her, almost knocking the wind out of his birthmother.

"You're awake! You're awake! I've missed you so much! You're awake!"

"I've missed you too, Kid," the blonde murmured into the top of his head, holding him as tightly as she could - which wasn't very tight considering how weak all of her limbs were. Henry finally broke away, positively beaming with pure, unbridled delight.

Mary Margaret swooped in to give her roommate a gentle hug. "Welcome back, Emma."

"Thanks."

"So can you come home tonight," Henry blurted. Both women smiled at his ever-endearing optimism.

"I wish, Kid. Whale needs to keep me here for a few more days for observations and stuff."

Something clicked in Emma's brain, and she turned her focus to her son, "Hey, d'you think I could talk with Mary Margaret alone for a few minutes?"

"Sure." He gave her another rib-cracking hug before leaving to go sit in the waiting area outside her room, a definite bounce to his step.

"Is something bothering you?" the brunette offered lightly, moving to take the unoccupied chair beside Emma's bed.

"Yeah, why did Henry come here with _you?_ Should he be with his mom?"

Mary Margaret shifted uncomfortably in her chair, and Emma shot her a piercing look. "He's... Well, he's been living with me since you went under."

Emma's jaw dropped. He's been _what?_"

"You have to understand; Henry suffered a trauma."

"When he found me."

"Yeah... And he's convinced that Regina poisoned you. I don't think he could handle living under the same roof as the person he believes to have attempted to murder his birthmother."

"And Regina just _let_ that happen?"

A contemplative frown creased Mary Margaret's forehead. "Surprisingly enough, she did. Not that anyone's seen much of her either." She answered Emma's questioning glance by saying, "She's become really reclusive since you went into your coma. She almost entirely stopped working at the Town Hall, choosing to work from her mansion instead. Barely leaves except to go shopping for necessities." The frown only deepened on Emma's face. "And then she went and got herself-"

"What? She got herself what?"

"I'm sorry, that's not something that I should be talking about. Especially not right now. You need your rest, Emma. We'll stop by tomorrow morning before school starts." Mary Margaret offered an apologetic smile.

Emma gave a noncommittal grunt, slumping back into her bed. She watched her best friend escort her son away, feeling an intense tug in her heart. She burrowed herself down under the blankets, only just noticing how cold she felt. She shivered deeply, balling her body up and rubbing her arms to try and shake the chill that decided to settle itself deeply within her.

Try as she might, the Savior could neither warm up nor sleep. She tossed and turned, comfortable in a position for only a few brief minutes. No matter what, she found that being on her back was acutely uncomfortable, which she attributed to having been lying on it for a whole month.

Every time she tried to sleep, whispered in her brain telling her not to. Her eyes would slowly drift open, and the blonde would moan in frustration. It would appear that she has a lot of awake time to make up for.

Several times throughout the night a nurse would come in to take her blood pressure, temperature and record her vitals. The first time that happened, she asked the woman who came in for extra blankets. Emma also asked what her temperature was, frowning when she was told that it was completely normal.

The blankets didn't help; she was still shivering when she watched the room grow lighter and lighter with the rising sun. She was leafing through a magazine, trying to distract herself from her growling stomach when one of the nurses entered, carrying a tray.

"Oh yes! Food! I'm starving!"

"Here ya go," he chuckled, placing the tray before her.

The sheriff's face fell when she looked at her meal. "This is all I get?" She stared at the English muffin, ice water and tiny fruit cup.

"Dr Whale doesn't want you to over-do it, so he's starting you out on something light, just to see how the food goes down."

"Can I at least have some coffee? I didn't get any sleep last night. I'm cold as hell, too. Hot coffee would be great."

"You're cold?"

"Freezing. Felt like I've been in a freezer all night. Extra blankets and stuff hasn't helped or anything."

The nurse frowned. "Your chart says that your temperature has been normal all night." She moved forward and placed her forearm against the blonde's brow. She yanked it away almost immediately, a tiny gasp tumbling from her lips. Before Emma could ask what was going on, she felt the long prong of the thermometer being poked between her lips.

"Now that _is_ odd," she said when the device beeped.

"What? What's odd? Am I gonna die?"

"My, you jump to conclusions fast! No, I don't think you're going to die, but you _do_ feel cold as ice, but your temperature still reads normal. I'll notify Dr Whale. In the mean time, eat."

"That's it? You sure I'm not gonna die?"

"Yes, I'm sure you're not going to die. Enjoy your breakfast, and I'll have someone bring you some coffee."

That last bit relaxed Emma a little bit more before she turned her attention to the measly excuse for a meal. It wasn't long after she had finished eating that Dr Whale entered her room. He looked fresh and awake, the exact opposite of how the blonde was feeling.

He glanced down at the contents of her tray. "Don't like apples?"

She looked at the uneaten slices in her fruit cup. "I usually do, but when I think about eating them now, I just feel sick. Weird, huh?"

"It's not all that unusual for people to have sudden shifts in their tastes. I know that I used to hate gin and tonics for the longest times; now, they're my favorite drink."

"I'm more of a Jack 'n Coke kind of person," she says.

"Mm. Anyway, Nurse Peters tells me that you're unusually cold, but your body temperature appears normal?"

As if answering his question, a huge shiver wracks her body, and she nods in the affirmative. He too jams a thermometer into her mouth, announces her normal body temperature and then places his arm against her head.

Unlike Nurse Peters, he didn't act as though he had received an electric shock, but slight hardening of his face was not lost on the blonde. He then poked and prodded around the rest of her body, staying quiet in concentration.

"Well, your body is exhibiting an unusual display of chills, yet still reading a normal body temperature. However, this isn't new."

"What d'you mean?"

"Ever since you were brought in, your body has been cold to the touch. There wasn't a whole lot to do about it, and quite frankly, we didn't know what to do. You were stable, and your temp never changed. The best I can do right now is get you an electric blanket and keep you under close surveillance."

"Brilliant."

"If it's any comfort, Sheriff, your life doesn't appear to be in any danger. Oh, before I forget, I'm going to have you do some physical therapy as a part of your recovery. Nothing major, just strengthening exercises to ensure that your mobility is back to normal."

Emma made another noncommittal grunt, her mind still lingering on what he said about her life not being in danger. Apparently he didn't know that she woke up to find none other than Regina Mills hovering over her. She was no doubt preparing to throttle her in her sleep, finally getting her out of the way once and for all. Emma's stomach twisted at the memory.

It was a dizzying and exhausting several days during the remainder of her hospitalization. It was a blur of tests, questions, visitors, physical therapy, more questions, more tests and some very sleepless nights.

She asked the doctor why she was finding sleep so difficult, and he attributed it to stress, restlessness and being in an environment that wasn't her home. All of which sounded plausible, but the stubborn sheriff still thought that it was her body making her catch up on a month's worth of wakefulness. The sleeping aids that they had her on only served to give her a few stolen hours of fitful sleep, waking up feeling haunted by dreams that she couldn't remember.

So when the day came for her to be discharged, she waited impatiently for her roommate and son to arrive and escort her home. She still wasn't allowed to drive, and had to walk with the assistance of a cane, something she loathed deeply.

Emma was sitting cross-legged on her bed, dressed in her usual attire that she had her faithful roomie bring to her, tongue poking out between her teeth while she puzzled over a cross word in the paper. She avoided every other ounce of the issue splayed across her lap after one of the nurses showed her the article Sidney wrote about her.

It was utterly saccharine and optimistic, telling of the miracle of the sheriff's awakening after her weeks of unconsciousness, the cause of which was still shrouded in mystery. Honestly, the way he spun that tale, August would have been proud. She felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of her enigmatic friend.

Fortunately, she was spared the discomfort of the path her mind was surely taking her when she heard the door to her room open. "Mom!"

"Hey, Kid!" She looked at her son, whose face was alight joy, her eyes tracking from his face to the mess of ribbons fisted in his little hand that led up to some merrily-bobbing balloons.

"Aww, you got me balloons? Ooo! Those are the ones with helium! Have you ever sucked helium from a balloon, Kid?"

He made a face that was a cross between disgust and curiosity. "No. Why would I want to do that? Wouldn't I choke or something?"

"Seriously? You're ten, what kid doesn't know about what helium does to your voice?"

"Mom said that I would suffocate, or get brain damage or something bad."

Of course Regina would do that. She planned to change his idea about the cheery balloons when they got home, but the teeniest little cough pulled her from her scheming.

"Dr Whale says that you've completed all of the paperwork for your discharge; I think it's time you came home, Emma." Mary Margaret gave her a warm smile.

"You don't have to tell me twice." She abandoned the cross word she was failing miserably at, hopping off of the bed with a little too much zeal. Her legs gave a nasty wobble while she felt her head swim with dizziness. The blonde cupped her forehead in one hand while clutching to the edge of the bed with the other.

Her vision cleared momentarily, revealing two faces shining with worry. "Don't worry, guys. I just stood up too fast. I still get kinda woozy from that. Doc says it'll pass, and it's been getting better."

She scoops up the cane that was resting against the little table beside her bed, leaning on it and making a face. Henry stifled a giggle at the sight of his mom hobbling around on a cane.

"Laugh it up, fuzzball. You'll find yourself floating home." She negated her threat with a conspiratorial smile.

"Can't help it," he says bobbing along side Emma, grinning like a goofball. "Granny's way older than you, and even she doesn't need a cane!"

"Yeah, well, she hasn't been in a coma for a month. I'd like to see just how mobile that old coot is after doing what I did." Another teeny cough came from her left. "Sorry, Mary Margaret."

The drive back to the teacher's little apartment was short and full of Henry's incessant chatter, and Emma was content to let it wash over her. She knew that her roomie could tell that she wasn't in the mood for much of anything too taxing. In fact, Emma could tell that her friend knew she needed a hot meal, an even hotter shower and good, long sleep.

However, if Mary Margaret had known earlier just how tired the blonde would be, she well, she wouldn't have done what she did. Emma hobbled through the door to her home, and her eyes practically bugged out of their sockets.

"WELCOME HOME, EMMA!"

She was nearly blasted off her already unstable feet at the greeting that just broke both of her eardrums. The small main floor was decorated with party ribbons, balloons, confetti and other miscellaneous things. Ruby, Leroy, David, Archie, Michael Tillman and Sister Astrid are all standing in the apartment, beaming at her.

The smell of sweet, sweet junk food hits Emma first, and her stomach gives her permission to pig out the moment she gets to the kitchen where all the goodies are. Unfortunately, access to unbridled amounts of food that's not from the hospital was inevitably delayed by the onslaught of hugs and happy wishes; all sentimental things that the poor blonde was certainly unaccustomed to.

Thanks to Mary Margaret, who mouthed the need to be quick and gentle behind Emma's back, the sheriff wasn't kept from her precious feast for too long. Once she had finished receiving a gruff pat and grumbled welcome home from Leroy, she made a beeline right for the goodies, Henry and Mary Margaret following.

She tore off a slice of extra cheesy pizza, already having stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth, and she was about to reach for a beer when she heard a little whisper in her ear.

"Those aren't for you," the brunette said, smiling apologetically.

"Seriously? Then... Why are they here?"

"Those are for our guests."

"Aw, come on, Mary Margaret! I've been in a coma for a month. Don't you think I've earned a drink or two?"

"I don't disagree, but you're not supposed to have any alcohol with the medications you're taking. Here." She shoved a cold bottle into Emma's free hand.

She looked at the label, and she gave her friend an intense stare of disbelief. "Non-alcoholic beer? Seriously?"

"Hey, take what you can get."

"Great, now I have to deal with Leroy while sober _again_."

"Oh, I don't think he'll be touching a drop of alcohol today, Em."

Emma looked over to the town's resident drunk, and she immediately noticed whom he was talking to. "I suppose he'll want to stay sober to impress the good Sister?"

"Why would he want to impress a nun?" Henry pipes up.

"You'll know when you get older."

"Ugh, I hate it when grown-ups tell me that! I'm ten, after all. I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"To us grown-ups, Kid, you'll always be a little kid. Besides, you're just the one who pointed out that we were the grown-ups without including yourself in the mix. If you wanted to convince me you were old enough, you just lost your chance, Kid." Emma gave the boy a challenging smile, and Henry simply scoffed and skulked away in a manner that he most certainly got from his birthmother. Emma watched him fondly as he wandered over to the TV to put on some cartoons.

"He really missed you, you know that, right?" Mary Margaret caught her companion's attention.

"Yeah?"

"He was scared to death when you collapsed in front of him."

"What did you say?"

"I said he was terrified. I mean, what child wouldn't be-"

"No, I mean, you say he saw what happened to me?"

"You didn't know that?" Alarm crossed the brunette's face.

"No. I was told that he found me, not saw everything. He could tell me! Maybe he could help me fill in those blanks!"

"Memory still not back?"

"Nah. Having retrogrand forgetfulness sucks."

"Retrograde amnesia," Mary Margaret politely corrected.

"Yeah, that." Emma took a swig of her not-beer, making a face at the totally wrong taste.

"Still not sleeping much, either?"

"Nope. Doc says it'll probably clear up once I'm back in a familiar place. Sure hope he's right, I'm tired as shit." Emma snorted humorlessly. "Go figure, eh? Coma for a month, now I can't sleep at all. I know they say that over sleeping messes up your sleep cycle, but I thought it was a load of bull 'til now."

"Well, a few good night's sleep, and a little more therapy and you'll feel like yourself again. You'll probably be allowed back to work in a week or so too! I bet you'll be glad for that, right?"

"Oh yeah. Hey, who's doing my job right now, anyway?"

"David filled in as deputy and acting sheriff. He's awfully handsome with that badge and shoulder holster," the brunette sighed, eyeing the man who held her affections.

Emma gave a little cough to bring Mary Margaret back to reality, and she watched with amusement as her cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. "I never pictured him in law enforcement."

"We kind of expected Ruby to take up the position, but her heart really is with Granny and the diner. David kindly stepped up to the plate, and he's been doing a pretty good job in your stead."

"Good. Maybe he'll want to stay as my deputy; I sure could use some help with all of the paperwork. C'mon, let's go talk to everyone else.

**Again, for those of you who are interested, here's my Tumblr: writers-dilemma. tumblr **


	17. Home?

**I finally feel like I know where I'm going in the story again. I didn't realize how overwhelming taking on Emma's condition would be, bit I've got it down now! Again, thank you all for the lovely comments and likes. Keep 'em coming, they keep me motivated! Enjoy!**

Henry mostly stayed to himself during the little party, swimming in his own turmoil. Just when he had finally dealt with the truth about his mother and her feelings for Emma, now he had yet another impossible task thrust upon his shoulders.

Emma didn't remember what had happened to her. She didn't remember trying to run away. She didn't remember her argument with Henry. Worst of all, she didn't remember the nearly deadly turnover that Regina had prepared for her nemesis. Now, the boy was at a loss for what truth to give his birthmother.

There was no doubt that he would soon be questioned by Emma, having overheard Ms Blanchard telling her that he had indeed witnessed what happened to the blonde. But what could he say? If he told Emma that Regina tried to kill her, well... One of two things could happen: She could scoff and refuse to believe the boy, memory still unrepaired, or she could remember and hate Regina forever.

If that happened, Henry could lose his newfound hope for a family he had been deprived of since birth. And for a young boy who believed his father dead, the prospect of losing his chance being a part of something whole made his chest clench oddly.

Henry recalled the day after Emma woke up, rushing over to the mayoral mansion, practically skipping with joy. He knew what had to have happened for the town's beloved sheriff to be free of her coma. He knew his mom had finally done what she was meant to, had finally done what she promised him. He had never felt prouder of her in his short life.

He burst in through the front door, not even bothering to shed his coat, scarf or sneakers. He started shouting excitedly for his mother, peeking in all the rooms, looking for the immaculate mayor, and his new personal hero. The brunette descended from the stairs, hair wet from a shower, and wearing nothing but satin pajamas and a warm robe.

Henry collided into her, giving the shocked woman a huge hug. "You did it! You woke her up! I didn't think you would! Thanks, Mom!" He felt his mother stiffen under his hold.

"I didn't do anything." Her voice was terse, her eyes distant.

Henry pulled away, trying to find the game in her face, but she was impassive, putting up her thickest walls that even he never managed to see around. "What do you mean? You kissed her, right? Emma's awake, so you must've kissed her. Like you promised."

"Just why would I do anything for that repulsive woman?" Her words cut deep, and she was trying not to pay attention to the hurt in her son's eyes.

"What are you doing? Why are you saying this?"

"I don't know what you mean, Henry. I've kissed nobody, least of all the sheriff."

Henry felt angry tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't seem to figure out what his mom was up to. She had resisted him before on this, but he knew the same thing she did: that only she could wake Emma, and only with a kiss. So why was she pretending? Why wouldn't she look at him?

"Mom...?" He saw her jaw flex at the word. "Why are you _lying?_" He put more venom into his words than he had intended, but that wasn't his primary concern at the moment.

"I am not lying, Henry." She still spoke in clipped tones, never fully making eye contact.

"Yes you are! Why!? You can tell me the truth!" He stamped his foot petulantly, now beyond frustrated. Regina remained silent, staring straight ahead, arms clasped tightly across her chest. He noticed her knuckles were white with how hard she was gripping her biceps. Something clicked in his brain.

"She doesn't remember," he said quietly. Her eyes flicked down to his briefly, looking for any trace of a lie. "She's got amnesia, and she doesn't remember that you tried to kill her." Henry said the last part evenly, but with a tinge of accusation to his voice, just enough to alert his mother to the truth of things.

"So, if that's why you're scared-"

"I am _not_ scared. Nor will I ever be scared of _anything_ involving that woman," she spat, and Henry felt like she was completely unaware that he was her son, and not some mindless lackey of hers.

"...Emma doesn't have to know," he said in a small voice, feeling guilty for even entertaining the idea. He noticed the slight tremble to her lips when he spoke those words.

"She will, Henry. Retrograde amnesia doesn't last forever." The waver in her voice was almost imperceptible. Almost. But Henry was very acute to those subtle shifts in body language, thanks to his years being raised by the woman standing before him.

"What if she forgives you?" Henry wonders if the hope he injects into his voice will do any good.

"She won't." The words were not only final, but he could also hear the defeat in her voice, a sound that was totally foreign to him in regards to the always confident and victorious mayor he called his mother. It deeply unsettled him.

"She's good. She has to forgive you! You're her True Love! And Love always finds a way!" His earnest words were met with nothing but a disbelieving scoff. He knew right then that there would be no dissuading the brunette from what she had convinced herself of.

"I'm really disappointed in you, Mom." He chose those words precisely, knowing they would do the most damage before turning his back on her. He never saw the tears rolling down the pale cheeks of the rigid woman as he walked out of the door.

Henry was really only pretending to read the comic in his hands while he wrestled with himself. A few people tried to talk to him during the party, but he made it politely clear that he wasn't too interesting in socializing. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for the time being.

What if Emma _did_ hate Regina for what she did? Not that anyone could really blame her; after all, Regina did try to murder her with a turnover. Even so, Henry couldn't fight the knots twisting in his stomach. It had been bad enough that his moms were constantly at each other's throats since the moment Emma decided to stay in Storybrooke, but Henry wasn't sure if he could handle a full-blown war. He's not sure that either woman would survive either.

He knew that there had been nothing but contempt between them during their rivalry and private battle for Henry, but there were still times when they managed to stand together, or share conversations that bordered on civility.

If Emma were to discover the truth, there might never be a moment of peace between his mothers again. Even worse, what if Emma wanted to take revenge on Regina? What if she wanted to repay her in kind for what Regina tried to do to her? He shuddered at the thought. Henry tried to convince himself that, though the Evil Queen may stoop to murder, the Savior was better than that. She _had_ to be. But a nagging little voice reminded him that his birthmother had led a far from saintly life before coming to their little hamlet. He fought down another shudder.

Does this mean he should lie? Henry tried to bite back the fear that had risen in his chest at the idea of his mothers potentially impending war. Maybe, he could pretend to be a little too traumatized at what he had witnessed to avoid telling Emma about everything that had happened on the night she tried to run. If he was lucky, he could delay until her memories returned.

But that still left her in the situation of knowing what happened. It still left her knowing that Regina tried to murder her. And then the battle would begin. Maybe... He faltered, questioning his next idea. Maybe if Emma heard the truth from his mom, heard the sorrow and regret he hopes that she would express, _maybe_ an all out war could be avoided.

If she heard it from Regina, the confession from the perpetrator, he doesn't know how, but he imagines that perhaps the blow will be softened. Even that sounds crazy to him, and he lives in a town comprised of cursed fairy tale characters.

Another problem surfaced, and he scrunched his face in frustration. Despite his mom's denials, Henry _knew_ she kissed Emma. He knew with all of his heart that she woke her rival with True Love's Kiss. Did she linger long enough to see Emma's eyes open? Or did she run the moment her lips connected with the Savior's? _Gross_.

Did Emma see Regina? Did she feel the kiss? He thinks that somehow Emma wasn't aware of how she was roused, considering that she hadn't mentioned it in any way. If there was one thing he knew about the blonde, it was that she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut about something involving Regina in any way. Physical or otherwise. Considering that she hadn't mentioned his mother in her waking moment, Henry figures that Regina somehow managed to vanish before Emma became completely conscious.

He feels kind of sad at that. Maybe things would be different if Emma had known what and who had broken her from her dreadful coma. Maybe if she had seen Regina over her, felt her lips - gross! - then maybe Emma would finally believe in her destiny, in the power of Love and the Curse. His chest clenches again, knowing that the Savior was still a long way off from seeing the truth...about everything.

The party had dissipated after a few hours of pleasant, albeit sometimes uncomfortable chatting with her friends. Emma felt exhausted physically and mentally after all of the questions lobbed her way.

There was no denying that Storybrooke loved gossip, and its inhabitants liked to pry. They knew well enough not to ask if she remembered anything about the night she fell ill, but that didn't stop other queries from popping up. Archie was particularly interested to know if she had any dreams or moments of lucidity during her month of unconsciousness.

The answer to her question was a resounding yes, but she lied and said she couldn't recall having any dreams. Emma suppressed a shudder from wracking her body, both from the memories of those dreams and from the chill that still clung to her right down to her bones.

She had endured the most dismaying nightmares she had ever had in her entire life. It felt like she was being forced to relive every horror, every regret and every pain Emma had ever experienced in her twenty-nine years of life. Nightmares were nothing foreign to the blonde, but they were always somehow a little bit vague, fudging the details, curbing the pain a bit. What she had suffered during her coma had been vivid, exact and brutal in its truth and cruelty.

And yet, there were moments of reprieve. They were brief, inexplicable and undeniably relieving in their presence. They all involved a figure she couldn't identify, but it was someone she was sure she knew, or at least desperately wanted to know. This person was warm, gentle and almost a little hesitant with all of their endeavors.

She remembers a tender holding of hands mostly. The stranger's skin was hot, a sensation Emma tries to recapture constantly considering how perpetually frozen she seems to be. This faceless figure would hold her hand, gently, as though Emma was made of glass. They would murmur things to her, though she never could make out the words, or even the gender of the voice. Just deep, rich rumblings.

Sometimes they sounded scared, and it made Emma's heart lurch. Other times those indistinct utterances felt soft but with a layer of insecurity and trepidation, as if they were unsure as to whether or not they should be saying what they were. All the while, her faceless companion held her fingers.

Then, there were the moments when the figure would bring their blissfully hot fingers to her own face, and Emma desperately wanted to cover that hand with her own. She needed to keep that contact that made her heart soar in a way she'd never felt before, knowing that the moment they separate, her mystery friend will melt into frigid darkness, and the memories would return. No matter how hard she tried, she could not move, and she felt as though she was screaming in desperation to do so.

Emma attributed the still-vivid memories of those horrid visions to be another part of the reason she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes to try and drift off, all of those images, all of the pain, all of those old scars cascaded back through every corner of her mind. She found herself wishing for the faceless friend to come to her rescue and banish those horrors from her head so she could get a few hours of decent rest.

Emma plopped down next to Henry on the sofa, handing him a cup of hot chocolate that Mary Margaret had made them all before bed. She could tell he was pretending to be engrossed in his comic book, and she knew he had been acting kind of strange all night. Ever since she woke up, he had been nothing but smiles and energy, but tonight he was distant, avoiding her in a most uncharacteristic way. Perhaps his distance would make it easier to do what she knew she had to the moment she came back to the apartment.

"Hey. Did you fun tonight?" she asked lightly, giving him a playful nudge with her elbow.

"It was alright." He continued to stare at his comic, his eyes unmoving.

"You okay, Kid? You seem kinda...off." She tried fixing him with a gentle but imploring look. He seemed determined not to make eye contact in anyway, but she noticed his brown eyes flicker over to the kitchen, a roil of emotions seething beneath them. She understood, turning to look at the kitchen as well, that this is the first time they've been together here since her incident.

"Wanna talk about it?" They both knew what she was referring to.

Henry looks up at her, his face full of doubt, hurt and confusion. "I... I'm not sure..." His face contorts with the struggle of his emotions. Emma wraps an arm around his shoulders.

"It's okay, Kid. I can't imagine what you went through when... whatever it is that happened to me happened. It's okay to be shaken up, and I can't tell you how sorry I am that I somehow put you through that. You don't have to talk about it now if you're not ready, 'kay?"

Henry's lips twitched in a grateful smile. "I'm sorry, Emma. I promise I'll tell you soon." He gave a big yawn, bringing the sheriff back to the original reason she came to talk to Henry.

"So, listen, Kid. Mary Margaret says you've been living here?" Henry gives her a sheepish smile. "I'm not gonna ask. Not right now anyway, I'm too tired. But this place is pretty small, and you've been crashing in _my_ bed. The bed which I now need to collapse into. I think it's time you went back to Regina's, don't you think?"

"What? No, why can't I stay here?"

"Kid, there's no room! Besides, Regina has _very legal_ custody of you. The last thing I need right now is her taking legal action against me. I wish you could stay, but I can't risk that. But don't look too sad, Operation Cobra is still on, right?" She gave him another playful nudge.

"Yeah, of course it is!"

"Mary Margaret is gonna call your mom, and I'm gonna help you pack up, 'kay?"

Henry have a heart-wrenching sigh. "Fineeee. Lemme get my clothes, and you can start taking my stuff out of the bathroom. Don't forget my toothbrush!"

They set about gathering his belongings in amiable silence, stopping for one quick tickle fight initiated by Emma. She lost rather quickly due to her impaired physical state. She was blushing furiously with her defeat while her son wore a smug expression, throwing his clothes pell-mell into a duffel bag. They both heard a sharp rap on the door downstairs. Henry said he'd finish packing so Emma could answer the door.

Mary Margaret was in the shower, so the blonde called down the stairs, saying she'd be along in a moment. She scooped up her cane, making a face at having to gimp around on a stick. As it turned out, going down the stairs was more difficult than going up. At least she could control the speed of her ascent, but her feet slammed onto each step going down, making her legs wobble dangerously.

She hobbled over to the front door, undoing the medieval-like dead bolt that August had installed for them a few months back. She swung to door open to reveal Regina, standing before her for the first time since Emma woke up. What she saw in the brunette startled her to no end.

**Again, follow me on Tumblr! I post pretty pictures of our Queen and her Knight! writers-dilemma. tumblr **


	18. Short Notice

**I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, even though it's kinda short. I hope you like the interaction between our leading ladies. Keep up the comments and likes! They motivate me to update faster!**

Regina was sitting in her lounge, nursing a small glass of whiskey, listening to some jazz to try and drown out the cacophony of her thoughts. She had done this every night since she had ki-_woken_ Emma from her sleeping curse. The images of that night ceaselessly crashed around her head and behind her eyes, creating a highly persistent, highly infuriating headache in her temples that no pharmaceutical could thwart; the whiskey just made it easier to ignore.

Her tongue absentmindedly ran over her lips while she thought about the sensation of them molding around the blonde's and the responding heat she felt crash through her unprepared body. Her expression soured, remembering the grin that pulled her lips back across her teeth, the gentle bliss of seeing those emerald eyes staring back into her own again.

Regina took a long sip from her drink, grimacing not at the hot path the alcohol was scorching down her throat, but at her own foolishness. The moment Emma's focus truly landed on her, the mayor saw nothing but abject horror in those stormy, confused eyes. Emma didn't wake to her True Love; she woke to find the her greatest rival, the woman who made her life in Storybrooke hell, the woman thoughtlessly hurt anyone who threatened her life with Henry, the woman who tried to kill her, hovering above her, smiling like some psychotic lunatic.

Mother was right, she thought bitterly, swallowing the remainder of the amber liquid, love really is _weakness_. What did she think would happen? That when she kissed the Savior, Emma would look upon her in a new light, and she would simply forget all that Regina tried to do to her? For _love?_ She snorted derisively. Those were the idle fantasies of a teenaged girl who thought she could outrun her destiny, her mother, with the handsome stable boy. Those were thoughts for a girl who believed that Love truly could conquer all, that a little girl could keep a secret, that her life was in her own hands.

No, Emma did not see her True Love when she woke. Emma saw Mayor Mills, the Evil Queen, her enemy, and the woman she was destined to defeat - though the blonde did not yet believe it. The sound of the sheriff calling after her as she fled rang through Regina's mind again. The tone did not sound kind, inviting or happy. Emma sounded disturbed, and she probably wanted to demand why the brunette was there, and how she was planning on killing her.

She tightened her jaw, feeling fresh embarrassment bubbling up in her stomach, mixing with the whiskey into nothing but anger at her stupidity. Maybe she would have been better off leaving Emma asleep, and succumbing to insanity. At least she'd never again have to endure this shame and horror she was feeling.

She flushed with chagrin, chastising herself for daring to even think like that. A wish like that would leave Henry orphaned - again - and she would never be able to live with herself, abandoning her most beloved boy because she felt incapable of handling some cross feelings for blonde thorn in her side.

Regina got up, about to head over to the bar to pour herself another drink, when her cell phone went off. She nearly jumped out of her skin, forgetting how loud she had the ringer and the way it echoed in the empty house. When she looked at the screen, she saw that the call was from Mary Margaret, and her first instinct was to ignore it. However, she quickly remembered that she was still watching over Henry, and her stomach dropped, afraid something had happened to him.

She was already bristling, ready to lash out if she had somehow allowed any harm to come to her son. "Ms Blanchard, have you any idea what time it is?" She 'greeted' in icy tones.

"I beg your pardon, Regina, but I'm sure you've heard that Emma is out of the hospital?"

"Are you trying to say that you called me after ten pm to announce to me that the sheriff was discharged, a fact that you already assumed I was aware of?"

"N-No. It's just, she's moving back in with me, which means there's no room for Henry, and..." Her voice trailed off pathetically, clearly unable to say that the only reason she seemed to relinquish Henry to his own mother was because her miniscule apartment was too full.

Regina chuckled mirthlessly, enjoying Mary Margaret's insecurity. "Tell me, what did you have to bribe Miss Swan with to get her to give me _my son_ back?"

There was a pause. "Nothing. It was Emma's idea." The teacher stated the words lightly, but Regina could hear the slight victory to her voice, having been able to defy the mayor's assumptions.

Something writhed deep in the brunette's gut, making her unable to respond. _Emma_ was willingly giving Henry back to her? Emma was the one who came up with this idea? _Emma?_

"Regina?"

"Indeed. When did you want me to get him?"

"I think Emma was hoping you would come right now. She's upstairs packing with him, and I think she's just really tired."

"Because someone who has been cur-in a coma for a month is hardly rested," Regina replied dryly. She knew the comment was in poor taste, but she wasn't sure she cared. Rather, she couldn't let herself care. She smirked a little bit at Mary Margaret's stunned silence. "I will head out shortly."

She didn't bother waiting for a response before hanging up. The brunette was thrown into another swirl of warring emotions. She was thrilled that she was going to have Henry back. The weeks spent in her big empty house left her feeling as lost as she did before she adopted him. But she was unable to tell what it was supposed to mean that Emma was giving him back. Why so suddenly? Why no fight? Maybe her head was more addled than she thought.

Regina touched up her makeup after slipping out of her pajamas. She was tempted to don one of her usual power suits in an attempt to show Emma that she wasn't to be toyed with, but it was late, and that dolt Mary Margaret said the blonde was tired. She opted instead for her usual black slacks and a crisp white blouse. Nothing too overpowering, but it was still an outfit that expressed order and control.

She slipped on the only pair of flats she owned, because her feet still held a residual ache from her wounds that she hadn't been able to shake. Her usual stilettos were hardly bearable for more than an hour, and boots weren't much better. She grimaced that she'd be losing those few inches that she usually had to stay on the same height with the tall blonde. She still had better posture, and Regina knew Emma would be slouching if she was tired. There's no point in fussing over these details, and she shook herself when she slipped on her black trench coat.

Regina remembered to pop a mint in her mouth on her way up to the apartment, not wanting anyone to potentially catch a whiff of whiskey on her breath. She stood facing the paint-chipped door, composing herself for what was to come. The mayor squared her shoulders, holding herself in her most regal upright position she could muster, while jutting her chin out ever so slightly. She cleared her eyes of any emotion, adopting a haughty, almost bored expression.

Convinced that her walls would betray nothing to the blonde or her moronic roommate, she rapped her knuckles against the wood. She heard a muffled response, and what sounded like a small crash. Regina was tempted to knock again, just to display her irritation, but she bit back the childish impulse after hearing the heavy thump of the blonde's footfalls on the stairs.

She heard the click of a lock and the grating of a heavy deadbolt sliding back before the door swung open to reveal Emma Swan. The sheriff was clad in grey sweatpants and a white tank top. Regina could see Emma's black sports bra under the thin material. It was also not lost on the mayor how the normally buoyant, playful curls of Emma's hair now lay limp and lifeless around her strong shoulders.

What caught Regina's attention the most was how heavily the sheriff was leaning on a plain aluminum cane. She couldn't fathom the reason the normally stalwart woman would need something like that for. Her gaze tracked up her body to finally lock eyes with her.

She felt the slightest flush touch her cheeks at having been caught staring, but she held the gaze nonetheless, continuing to keep her eyes devoid of emotion. Emma Swan did not seem to be thinking along the same lines. Her formerly-vibrant olive eyes now seemed sunken and weary. She took in the deep purple bruising beneath those tired orbs and the sallow look to Emma's skin. To be blunt, the Savior looked like a mere shadow of herself, and Regina was barely conscious of the way her blood seemed to be hammering in her ears.

Emma cleared her throat awkwardly, failing to hide her own assessing once-over of the brunette. "Henry should be down in a minute. He's just finishing up packing." Regina remained silent. "Er... Thanks for coming on such short notice." Emma tried smiling weakly

"Yes, well, he is _my son_, Miss Swan. And you look hardly fit to take care of anything, not even a gerbil."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I want him back with you. He was crazy to run off like that, and you're the one who knows how to look after him best," Emma responds, looking away, her voice laden with defeat and maybe even a little self-loathing, Regina thought. She was prepared for their usual biting, snarky banter, but it seemed that even the spitfire blonde was too worn for one of their verbal battles.

"It's about time that you learned something right for once," she bit back, refusing to drop her walls, even though the sheriff's words dug straight underneath them. Just when she thought she had the other woman figured, Emma went and negated everything she had anticipated. She tightened her lips imperceptibly, frustrated.

"Yeah, well, maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, or the fact that I was in a coma for five weeks, but it kinda puts things into a different perspective for me." She sighed heavily. "It's probably the lack of sleep. Bet a shot of bourbon would probably help put me out, but doc's orders. No alcohol for me," Emma said with mock enthusiasm.

Neither woman could explain why they were attempting awkwardly-forced small talk, but neither woman tried to stop it either. Regina remained as immaculate and composed as she was able, while Emma shuffled uncomfortably, starting to feel the weakness in her legs again.

Henry still hadn't come down, and Emma was tempted to call over her shoulder for him, somewhat eager to leave this conversation, and make another failed attempt at sleep. Yet, she didn't. Little did the women know that Henry was deliberately dawdling, having finished packing not long after his birthmother answered the door. He had been listening in secret, looking for any sign of a connection.

"Why can't you sleep?" Regina winced internally, immediately regretting letting the hint of concern color the inquiry. She played it off by following it up with, "And I hope it's a problem that can be sorted out quickly. Storybrooke cannot have its sheriff dragging her feet, giving a sub-par performance."

Emma grunted at the comment. "I uhh... I can't really say why I haven't been able to..." She locked her eyes with Regina's. Something passed between them. Something that definitely didn't have a name or form. Both women felt it, but neither were really aware of it. Regina's mouth went dry while Emma felt like her guts were twisting.

"Nightmares."

"What?"

"It's why I can't sleep. I had horrible nightmares in my coma, and I can't seem to shake 'em. That and I'm cold."

A hot wave of guilt washed over Regina when she remembered one aspect of the sleeping curse was that it forced its victim to relive all of their worst moments. She remembered the blonde's checkered past and realized that it probably contained more than a handful of horrors.

"Perhaps if you dressed more warmly, Miss Swan, you wouldn't be so cold."

"No, like, I'm _cold_ cold. Every time I take my temp it says it's normal, but I'm fucking freezing. Feel."

Emma's free hand darted out to take one of Regina's, and the brunette gasped at the sudden, and definitely not permitted contact. She was completely startled at the fact that the blonde's digits felt as icy as they had the first night Regina dared to touch them in the hospital.

Regina reflexively jerked her hand away, her face hardening with a look of venom. Emma hobbles back a step, looking sheepish, a deep blush creeping up over her colorless cheeks. Henry, bless him, finally chose to come down, backpack slung over one shoulder and duffel bag clutched in his fist.

"Henry!" Regina flashed him the warmest smile she could, trying to quell the explosion of frantic butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach. "I've missed you so much." She deliberately scooped him up into a back-breaking hug, determined to show the blonde how much she really loved the gasping boy in her arms.

"Whoa, easy, Mom," he said rubbing his sides, giving her a really confused look. He turned his big puppy-eyes to his birthmother, giving her a pleading look, and a heavy, heartfelt sigh.

"It's not goodbye forever, Kid. Now go on," Emma said, always uncomfortable with goodbyes. "It's past your bed time, and your mom's tired. I'll see you around, 'kay?"

"Okay... I'll see you around." Henry slammed himself into her middle for a goodbye hug, and the Savior's legs wobbled dangerously after being thrown off balance. She gave him a one-armed embrace in return while Regina looked on with distaste.

"C'mon, Kid. Don't keep your mom waiting," she said gruffly. He let go and turned to leave.

"Tell Ms Blanchard I said bye," he called over his shoulder.

"Will do. G'night, Regina. Thanks again," Emma said wearily.

"Miss Swan." Regina gracefully inclined her head, leaving with a confident strut, determined not to look back as she heard the door swing shut on creaky hinges, determined to fight the way her hands shook, determined not to whisper _Sleep well _under her breath.

**As always, feel free to follow me on Tumblr at writers-dilemma. tumblr. com**


	19. Unexpected Gestures

**Sorry for the wait, but until the very end of the chapter, I was having a miserable time getting it out! Enjoy, and don't forget to comment or shoot me questions! It keeps me motivated!**

Emma watched Regina walk away for a few seconds, not sure what the hell she was feeling. She closed the door, suddenly aware of the hot tears that tracked their way down her face, and the blonde frowned, wiping them away, unable to account for their presence. She stumbled over to the sofa, feeling new tears replace the ones she just eradicated, so exhausted that she had no strength to bother fighting them either.

Mary Margaret came down, wrapped in a warm robe, short locks tousled from her shower. Emma could practically feel those brown eyes widening in an almost comical fashion once her roommate saw her hunched on the couch, shoulders shaking, sniffling loudly. The brunette rushed to her side.

"Oh Emma! Don't cry, sweetie! Henry will be back, just you wait and see." She wrapped her arm warmly around the blonde's back, and Emma could feel her flinch slightly at the chill she knew Mary Margaret could feel. It didn't take long for her to feel the weight of a warm blanket being draped over her.

"He'll be back. He loves you."

Emma looked at her friend with a confused frown. She hated saying goodbye to the kid, but it's not like she hasn't done that before. No, Henry wasn't the reason she was crying. But, if her son's absence wasn't the cause of her distress, what was? She couldn't tell Mary Margaret, because Emma knew that she would pry, and the sheriff had no strength for emotional interrogations that had no answers.

She felt the looming cloud of defeat creeping over her even though she couldn't tell what battle she had already lost. She wasn't going to tell her roommate that she guessed wrong about the source of her distress, but Emma wasn't going to push her away either. She never really had someone to hold her up when she wasn't strong enough. She never let herself get to that point. Despite the feeling of friendly comfort being really, _really_ weird for Emma, she allowed herself to lean into the brunette, letting the strange sobs wrack her body.

Mary Margaret positioned herself so she could cradle her friend, cooing soft words into her ear, gently stroking Emma's messy tresses. Hurt, conflict, anger and being a little lost were things that the brunette saw on the sheriff many times since her arrival to Storybrooke, but unbridled sadness? Crying? Curling up like a child whose first pet just died? Those were things that she had _never_ seen on Emma before. Quite frankly, it scared her.

Mary Margaret did not know what happened the night of Emma's incident - other than Henry furiously proclaiming that Regina had poisoned her - but she could tell that the blonde wasn't the same woman anymore. Her roommate had only been home for a few hours, but that was all she needed to see the difference.

There was always a burning fire seething within her friend, one that drove her to do things no one would ever dare, one that inspired others around her. Mary Margaret couldn't seem to find it anymore, and the hollow look that haunted those vibrant green eyes was downright unsettling. She also wasn't sure if it was still because Emma wasn't fully recovered, but she saw the way the woman dragged her feet, the way she seemed slumped over all the time, and the heavy sighs one only uses when extremely exhausted.

Mary Margaret adjusted her strokes to something gentler, having noticed the absence of Emma's muffled sobs, now hearing only occasional sniffles. She considered moving to let her friend stretch out on the couch to get some much-needed rest, but it felt as though the woman was already slipping into unconsciousness. Moving would only disrupt that. Instead, she allowed herself to get a little more comfortable, and it wasn't long before the two were fast asleep, curled up with each other under the worn fleece blanket.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Emma shrieked, slamming upright, slipping off of the couch in her attempt to pummel Mary Margaret.

"Emma! Ouch! Emma... Stop! It's okay!" The brunette had screamed in her retreat to perch on the back of the couch, holding her hands out in defense.

"IF YOU TRY TO LAY ANOTHER FINGER ON ME, I WILL FUCKING _KILL_ YOU," Emma roared into the dark room, her eyes bulging and unseeing.

"Emma, please! There's nothing here! _It's just a dream!_"

The blonde started slicing her fists through the air, nearly coming into contact with some very solid, or very breakable objects. She was screaming unintelligible things, stumbling, half-crawling on weak legs. Mary Margaret wadded up the nearest blanket and chucked it straight into Emma's face. The blonde stumbled, stunned into silence before falling backwards heavily onto the coffee table.

"Ow! Fuck! What the hell!" Emma groaned loudly, squirming uncomfortably on the little table.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret whispered fearfully.

The sheriff lifted her head, peering blearily over to her roommate. "The hell are you doing crouched on the back of the sofa?" She sat up with another deep groan.

"Er... Trying to get away from you?"

"Get away from me?" The brunette offered her an apologetic smile. "Oh God... I'm so sorry, Mar." The blonde cradled her head in her hands, but suddenly, she was bent over, dry heaving heavily.

Mary Margaret crawled away from her perch, bringing a towel from the kitchen. Emma took the rag to wipe off her chin, mumbling about wanting a glass of water. The brunette wasted no time in getting the desired beverage for her friend. The sheriff moaned in pleasure when the cool liquid slid past her lips.

"You stay right there, keep drinking and I'll be back down in a minute." Mary Margaret heard a responding grunt, and she rushed off up the stairs. Emma clutched at her stomach again, breathing heavily, unsure if she was going to vomit again. She held the glass up to her forehead, reveling in the soothing sensation. The soft sounds of her roommate's feet padding back down reached her several minutes later.

"Feeling any better?"

"A bit... Yeah."

"Come on, Em. Let's get you into your bed. I already made it up, and I put extra blankets down, so you'll be super cozy. I also dug out your flannel pj's, and I can get you some more water when you're all tucked in." She held out her hand, inviting Emma to take it.

Green eyes full of grateful disbelief found her own. "Where were you when I was a kid? I coulda used you in 'mommy-mode.' Bet I would have turned out a little better if you had been my mom," Emma said bitterly into the curtains of hair framing her pale face.

"Better late than never, right? Come on; let's get you upstairs. You'll feel better once you're in your own bed again."

Mary Margaret felt an icy hand land in her own palm, and she gave a gentle tug, hoisting her friend off of the coffee table. The cane lay forgotten near the sofa while the brunette supported the exhausted blonde upstairs for a proper sleep.

Emma's eyelids reluctantly pried open, registering the warm autumn sun with a dispirited groan. She ran cold fingers over her slightly sunken cheeks, hoping that if she burrowed deeper into the many layers of blankets that her kind roomie had provided the night before, she might be able to shake off the cold. It had been more long hours of restless tossing and turning, fading in and out of more nightmares, waking up in cold sweats and the now ever-looming sense of defeat.

A bright pink note left on her nightstand caught the sheriff's sleepy eyes, and she scanned it quickly, smiling at the words scrawled across the paper: _Em, I made breakfast for us (french toast! Your favorite!) I brought your medications up to the bathroom, and your physical therapy appointment today is at 12:30. Love, MM_

Emma's attention was brought to the cane that Mary Margaret had propped against her nightstand. Fresh pain shot through her heart when she once again thought that she really could have benefitted from the brunette's mothering as a child. She made a mental note to get the woman something nice in gratitude.

The sheriff stretched stiffly when she stood up, noting new soreness from her incident the previous night. She sighed, feeling like normalcy with her body and the overall Zen and confidence that she carried were far in the past. It felt like an age had flown by since she was last pulling shenanigans with Henry, hanging out with Ruby, defending Mary Margaret from being convicted for a murder that was never committed and doing everything in her power to piss off Regina.

She scrubbed her fists over tired eyes, scooping up her cane as she made her way to the bathroom. Her face scrunched in frustration when she noticed the definite wobble that still clung to her long legs. Emma paid as little attention to her reflection as possible when scraping her mane into a messy ponytail and brushing her teeth. However, her eyes immediately found the note stuck to the mirror with directions scribbled down pertaining to the medications she was supposed to be taking. After swallowing a small handful of pills, she padded downstairs, still clad in her flannel pajamas. The smell of bacon hit her, causing her mouth to water instantly, not even realizing just how vacant her stomach felt until that moment.

"Good morning," Mary Margaret said brightly, moving around the little kitchen in a floral apron. "Sit yourself down, I'll get you some coffee and put your plate together."

Emma was slightly thrown off, pausing to stare in disbelief at her roomie. "Good morning to you too. What's with the banquet? What are we celebrating?"

"Nothing. Just thought I'd do something nice. Besides, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Emma narrowed her eyes at her while she placed her elbows on the breakfast bar. "Seriously, what's up?"

"Nothing. Is it wrong for me to want to do this? Here." She set a steaming mug of coffee and a plate with two thick slices of french toast - the topmost piece had a smiley face made out of blueberries and sliced strawberries on it - three strips of crisped bacon, and a small serving of scrambled eggs on it before the blonde. The container of syrup soon followed while the kitchen was filled with a deep, bacon-induced moan. Emma's brow furrowed thoughtfully while she took a long sip of her coffee.

"Something up? Did I not put enough sugar in?" the brunette asked, sitting down with her own plate of food.

"Hm? Oh, no, it's not that. It's just... Mar, did you do this because you spent so much time looking after Henry, and now he's gone? I mean, is that why you never thought to take him back to Regina?" Mary Margaret stopped chewing and stared at her plate with a slightly guilty expression. "I'm guessing you left him little notes too? Did you also put smiley faces on his breakfasts?"

"It helped cheer him up," she responded in a small voice. "He... He just missed you so much, Emma. I don't know... Taking care of him just felt natural. Almost as natural as taking care of you does."

Emma choked on a piece of egg. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked between coughs.

"I don't know how to explain it," she said in a rush. "Looking after you feels like something I've done forever. Or, should have been doing. I know, it's really weird, but it's the truth in how I feel." She looked up at perplexed green eyes. "Don't worry, Em. I'm not going to start trying to put you in diapers, or treat you like a kid or anything."

"Please don't! If I walk around on a cane _and_ wear diapers, well, Henry may as well just call me Grandma."

"Speaking of which, eat up! I have got to get you to your appointment soon."

"You said it was at 12:30, it's only, like, 10."

"No, it's almost 11:30, and you're not even dressed."

"Shit! Seriously? Why didn't you get me up earlier?"

"It's Saturday? You needed it, Emma. You were dead on your feet." Emma's face darkened. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't think..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll hurry up for you."

Emma stumped her way through the hospital to the Recovery Ward without Mary Margaret who decided to use the time to run some errands. Probably more like stalk David Nolan, if Emma knew the woman at all. She shook her head, smiling to herself at the thought, before entering the tiny waiting area.

It was a small space quartered off from the rest of the large room that housed exercise machines, cots, rails and other various equipment and a few isolated rooms. She signed in quickly, and before she even had a chance to sit down, one of the therapists was addressing her.

"Roger will be with you in a little while; he's finishing up with one of his patients right now. But I can start you on the bike for your warm up in the meantime." Emma consented and was led to the small row of stationary bicycles. "I'm going to set the timer for 10 minutes this time, but as always, take it as slowly as you need. And if you feel like you can't stay on for the full 10 minutes, just give someone a holler and we'll get you off."

Emma clambered onto the machine, willing her legs to push the resisting pedals while putting in some earbuds for a distraction. Despite the fact that her muscles were groaning with the effort she was exerting on the bike, she completely ignored all protests, hoping that if she could work herself hard enough, she could warm her body through physical means.

But the minutes ticked by, and despite the slight sheen of sweat glistening on her skin, her heavier breaths and the burning pain in her lower extremities, Emma felt as chilly as ever. Even though she was frustrated with her body, she felt relief nonetheless when the timer on the bike started beeping when her time was up, sighing gratefully.

The blonde climbed off, shaking her legs out while turning to look outside the big windows behind the bikes that overlooked a small courtyard on the hospital grounds. It was a clear, inviting day for autumn in Maine, and she cast a slightly resentful glower at the pale blue sky. It would have been a perfect day for a run, but no, her stupid legs had to turn into floppy noodles while she was in a coma.

While she was scowling deeply at the good weather, Roger's voice met her ears over her music. "It can take quite some time for injuries such as yours to heal. Even though the surface damage is gone, there's still a lot underneath and deep within the tissue that is slow to heal.

"I'm glad to hear that you find the deep tissue massage to be helpful to you, especially with the pain management. So we will continue with that, and you said you were doing your stretches at home as well? Because it's absolutely crucial to getting you back into ship shape. Don't forget to take pain killers as needed, and some nice soaks in hot water should help improve the circulation in the area as well."

Emma made to turn around and greet him while he finished talking with his patient, but she had pushed herself far too hard on the bike. When she swung around, her legs put in a feeble attempt at cooperation before completely giving out. The sheriff went flying, colliding with something rather solid that crashed down with her in the process.

The solid thing let out a little yell before slamming into the ground with her. "Shit! I'm sorry!" Emma said, hoisting herself up onto her elbows to look at the unwitting victim of her own clumsiness. Her eyes widened when they fell upon the woman who was trying to compose herself as graciously on the floor as possible.

"_Regina?_" Emma was used to the varied people that drifted in and out of the physical therapy office. Archie was in regularly for his back and the rest were mostly older folk dealing with age-related injuries or accidents and a handful of high schoolers treating sports injuries. But the mayor? She was the last person Emma expected to see there. In fact, she wasn't even aware that the woman had any physical problems at. She always seemed so perfectly assembled that the very idea of Regina having any sort of malady seemed almost comical. Emma gawked at her for so long, that she didn't notice the small crowd of employees buzzing around her, asking if she was okay or needed assistance.

"You should close your mouth, Miss Swan. I doubt you'd appreciate the flies that would no doubt swarm around the garbage that usually dribbles out of it." she sneered, looking down at the collapsed sheriff, having already gotten herself up.

"Regina? What are you doing here?" Emma allowed a couple of people to help her to her feet, where she stood unsteadily.

"I hardly think that's any of your business, Sheriff." Regina stared hard at the blonde while she straightened her slightly rumpled trousers.

"Are you hurt? Did something happen to you?"

"Again, also none of your business," Regina replied tersely, but she was struggling to mask her surprise at Emma's aggressive concern.

Some poorly-stifled sniggers pricked at the sheriff's ears. She whipped around, keeping her balance this time to focus narrowed emerald eyes onto a pair of kids filming the whole thing on their cell phones.

"Delete it. Now!" she said menacingly.

"No! It's my property, I can do what I want with it!" one boy snarked.

"Yeah! You can't make us do it!" his friend echoed with a greasy sneer.

A muscle was ticking in Emma's forehead, her temper rising unusually fast.

"Listen, punks, my rep is crap as is. So I could care less what stupid videos are out there of me, but if you think I'm going to let you even _try_ to make a fool out of Regina, you've got another thing coming." Emma spat each and every word, her fists tightly balled and slowly advanced toward them without knowing. Everyone else stood frozen, unable to speak or react.

"Fucking delete it. _Now._" She whispered the last word, only a few feet from the two kids.

"Miss Swan!" Regina said sharply. "I will _not_ have my sheriff acting so brashly!"

"Yeah! Police brutality!"

"Yeah! Back off, Cop!"

"Convenient, except that I'm not a cop right now. Haven't taken up the badge up yet." A sinister grin pulled at her lips when she saw their pimply faces pale. "Oops," she said with a shrug that was uncharacteristically threatening.

"Are... Are you serious, lady?"

"If you don't delete your shit now, you'll see just how serious I am, prick!"

"_Miss Swan!_" Regina's sharp tone finally cut through whatever possessed the sheriff to threaten teenagers, but the blonde's words had done their trick as the two boys frantically tapped at their phones to erase what they filmed only minutes earlier.

"I have no clue what's gotten into you, but if you _ever_ do anything like that again, I can assure you that I will not be lenient with my punishment."

"A thank you would have sufficed, _Madame Mayor._" Emma was still glaring at the kids, breathing heavily, her whole body rigid.

"You have a disgusting and sick idea of what it means to defend someone's honor. If you could even call it that." She drew air quotes around the word 'defend.'

"Still not hearing a thank you," the blonde said vehemently, continuing to glower at everyone but the mayor.

"Nor will you ever! Look at me!" she firmly grasped Emma's shoulder, turning the woman to face her. The sheriff's crazed eyes widened in horror when she met Regina's iron gaze. "That was a vile display of your crass impulsiveness, and I _will not_ have it here, in my town or anywhere near me! Leave the premises immediately."

"Regina... I... Fuck, I'm sorry-"

"Now. If I have to ask you one more time, so help me I will phone Sheriff Nolan, have him arrest you for disturbing the peace and throw your insolent self in jail until you've come to your limited array of senses."

Emma snapped her mouth shut. Not a soul in that room could deny the finality and truth to the mayor's words. The blonde would have to be insane to try and contest her again. Instead, her cheeks turned an ashy green while she stumbled out of the Physical Therapy center, not even bothering take her cane as she exited.

Emma briefly considered calling Mary Margaret for a ride, but that idea was immediately rejected. There was no way she'd be able to sit in the car with her friend, trying to explain whatever the hell just happened back there to her. No, she needed to run. She needed to pound all of the confusion out of her body with a hard jog.

Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be possible for her. After all, Emma collapsed after a ten-minute ride on a bike. However, this wasn't a normal circumstance, and she had a massive dose of adrenaline rushing through her veins, giving her all the strength she needed to run a full marathon.

So Emma Swan ran. She ran to the one place she knew she'd find some answers. She ran to the one person who would talk to her, who would make her feel like she wasn't going completely nuts. Her feet slammed a frantic path to where Henry's Castle used to be, somehow knowing he would be there.

**As always, find me on Tumblr at writers-dilemma. tumblr. com**


	20. Apologies and Cooties

**I had a ton of fun writing this chapter. It's fun and fluffy, which you all will need because the coming chapters are about to get a lot heavier. Please enjoy, send me comments and such. I don't bite!**

Emma came skidding to a breathless halt beside her incredibly confused son. She heard him ask her something, but the blood was pounding so heavily in her ears that she couldn't hear anything else above it. The blonde held up a shaky finger, signifying that the boy needed to wait for her to catch her breath. She was bent double, leaning on her knees, panting like a tired, old dog.

Several minutes passed, and she finally looked at the perplexed boy with a weak smile. "Hey," she offered.

"Uh, hey?" Henry's eyes were full of worry, as he took in the sweaty, flustered look of the bent woman before him.

"Hey, look, a bench," Emma panted, pointing. "Wanna sit?"

"Sure? What's going on?" he asked once they plopped down onto the bench overlooking the stormy sea.

Emma fixed him with a piercing look. "What happened to me, Kid?"

"I don't know-"

"Yes you do know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about that night almost six weeks ago. Henry, what happened to me?"

She watched him squirm next to her, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, and she thought she saw a touch of guilt clinging to his form. "Emma... I'm not ready to say what I saw..."

"I know. I know I asked you last night, and I know that I promised that I'd give you time, Kid. But I'm feeling really lost here. I need _something_. Even if it's just a little piece, a little tale. C'mon, Kid. Give me a chapter in my coma story." She playfully nudged him with her elbow, successfully diffusing the tension.

A slow smile spread across his face while he stared out across the water. "Okay, but you gotta promise that you won't get mad!"

Emma tensed immediately, fearing the worst, but that same smile was still plastered across his face; she couldn't tell if she should feel afraid or embarrassed for what was to come next. "I promise."

"You've got to Pinky Promise!" He stuck out his little finger.

"Sure thing, Kid." She hooked her finger around his, sealing the unbreakable promise not to get mad. His smile got bigger.

"Alright, Emma. What I'm about to tell you is not about the night you went into your coma," he said with an air of mysterious grandeur. "I'm going to tell you about a time when you were unconscious, and I tried to devise a plan to wake you up."

Emma opened her mouth, about to ask if Dr Whale sanctioned any of what he was going to try, but Henry held up a hand to stop her. "As you know," he continued with that same air. "Operation Cobra cannot continue without the Savior, so naturally I had to find a way to bring you back. It took me a while to figure out the means to wake you up," he said, casually leaving out the times he consulted with Mr Gold, knowing that Emma would not approve.

"Of course, the answer finally came to me, and I wondered how I hadn't thought of it before!" Emma stared at him, waiting for the big reveal. "True Love's Kiss! If it's powerful enough to break any curse, surely it could wake you up!" The blonde could not stop the eye roll that followed his statement, and she groaned, definitely afraid of what was to come next.

"I had no idea who your True Love was. In truth, nobody did. Not even Ms Blanchard. So there was only one way to find out for real."

"Oh no. Kid, please don't tell me..."

"I kinda had a sort of...audition?" Emma's eyes shot wide open as she stared, mouth agape at her son.

"I had everyone who I knew didn't have a True Love come and..."

"Oh God, no..."

"Kiss you."

"GROSS!" Emma started spitting, wiping her tongue and making all sorts of noises that one usually hears from a grossed-out teenager. "Henry! _Really?_"

"Sorry...?"

"I will never, _never_ feel like my mouth is clean again! Ugh! Don't you know that boys have cooties? Nasty!"

Henry pulled a face. "Really, Emma?" he said in a matter-of-fact tone that sounded all too like Regina. "You're going to play the cooties card?"

"It's, like, a scientific fact that boys have cooties! Haven't any of the girls in your classes said that?"

"Maybe when I was in first grade?" He watched as his birthmother continued to try and wipe out her mouth, making funny blubbering, gagging noises. "Boys don't have cooties, Emma! I'm a boy, and I've never seen a single cootie crawling on me. Not even in my hair," he stated defiantly.

"Of course you haven't seen them, Kid. Cooties are invisible! If we could see them, the human race would have died off a looooong time ago."

"What about my dad? Did he have cooties?"

"Absolutely he had cooties!"

"Then how come you stayed with him?"

"There are some people whose cooties you can ignore. Your dad's cooties were bearable enough that I could overlook them."

Henry pulled another face. "I thought girls had cooties too?"

"We do," Emma responded plainly. "But ours smell better!"

"They do not!" Henry said hotly. "Girls smell just as bad as boys do!"

"You'll change your tune in a couple years, trust me."

"Ew, Emma! I don't wanna think about that!"

The blonde snorted, smiling mischievously down at her son. "You will in a couple years."

"You're so gross! Maybe _you_ have cooties!"

"I definitely do after what you put me through in that coma! Thank God I can't remember!" Emma scrunched her face comically. "Did Archie kiss me? Urg, did _Leroy_ kiss me?"

Henry offered up a sheepish, apologetic smile. "Sorry?"

"Yes. Yes I have cooties. I have so many cooties that I will probably need to be hospitalized for a severe cootie infection."

"I know what to do! Gimme your arm!"

"Why? What are you gonna do?"

"Cure you," he said bluntly. Emma reluctantly offered up her left arm, and she watched as he rolled up her sleeve. "Circle, circle, dot, dot," he chanted, tracing his finger on her forearm. "Now you've got your cootie shot!" He looked proudly up at her, the accomplishment of abolishing Emma's cootie problem smeared all over his smug little face.

"Thanks, Kid. You just saved me a fortune in cootie-treatment bills. It's an expensive fix, let me tell you!"

"Okay, we're home now," Mary Margaret said. "Are going to finally tell me why I had to pick you up where The Castle used to be and why you kept spitting out of the car window?"

"Mm." Emma held up a finger, and dashed upstairs, stumbling a few times without her cane. When she came down, she was carrying an open bottle of Listerine, her cheeks puffed out from swishing the fluid around in her mouth.

Emma walked over to the sink, spitting it out and pulling a face from the way her mouth burned. "Care to tell me when you were going to let me know that you let every bachelor in town stick his tongue down my throat while I was in a fucking _coma?!_" She threw her hands up in exasperation, but both women knew Emma was being playful with her upset.

"About that..." The brunette watched her roommate take another generous swig of mouthwash. "You know how much Henry loves you, right?" She watched Emma spit the Listerine out.

"Of course I do. I love the little shit back!"

"You might want to come up with a better term of endearment."

"Yeah, well, it's still kinda true. You were saying?"

"Right. When you were in the hospital, and there was no knowing what was going to happen, when you'd wake up, or if you'd even wake up at all, Henry did what he always does. I know his whole idea of us being cursed is hogwash and all, but it's his outlet. It's his coping mechanism.

"That first week that you were out, I didn't even know that the boy staying with me was Henry. He never talked, he barely ate, and I'm sure that he slept even less. It was terrifying to witness. I did everything in my power to cheer him up, to make him confident that you'd recover, but my words seemed to wilt when they came near him.

"But then he found what had been giving him hope for so many months, Emma."

"What's that?" Emma had done everything in her power not to look at Mary Margaret. She still knew nothing of what had happened to her, but she couldn't fight the guilt that squirmed through her veins when she tried to imagine the pain that she put Henry through.

"Belief, Emma. He found his belief." She smiled warmly at him.

"Belief in what? Curses?"

"More than that. He found his belief in something bigger than him. He found belief in something bigger than all of us. He found his belief that Love can overcome any obstacle, and even more than that, he found his belief in you." Mary Margaret reached out, squeezing the blonde's trembling hand. She fought down a shudder at the sensation of Emma's icy skin.

"That still doesn't answer my question."

The brunette snorted with humor. "My point is, Em, he found what drove him. He smiled again. Henry got that mischievous glint back in his eyes, and he was eating, and yammering away about what he was going to do when you woke up. How could I deny him that? Yes, yes. I know, it's still weird and gross that I allowed him to have just about every man in town kiss you. However! I supervised it all, and I made sure every single kiss was quick, and there was no tongue!"

Emma made a retching noise as she had the sudden and revolting image of Leroy, drunk and sweaty trying to ram his tongue down her throat. She immediately brought the bottle of mouthwash up to her lips for a third time.

"I thought that would be good news...?"

"Good news," she said after spitting again. "Bad visuals!"

The brunette pulled a face. "Urgh, you're right."

"Ha! Karma's a bitch!"

"Is that really Karma?"

"Not a clue, Mar. Not a clue."

"Speaking of which, where's your cane?"

Emma's eyes widened at the question, and it was impossible for the teacher not to notice the flush blossoming across the woman's cheeks. "I, uh... I left it at the physical therapy place?"

"And is that in any way linked to the reason why I picked you up at the beach and not the hospital?"

The scowl that Emma donned would have made a brooding teenager proud. "I kinda got kicked out."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Yeah, I kinda got into with Regina, but not really. I d'know, it was weird. Okay, I can tell from that look on your face that you'll never sleep until I tell you. So, sit down, I'll make some coffee, and I guess I'll tell you everything."

Emma recounted the events of that morning, and her very short physical therapy session. Despite feeling ashamed of her actions, she told her friend every single thing that happened. She knew how small town gossip worked, and by now she was sure that the story has already warped into something that's only a shadow of the truth. She knew telling it exactly as it was would save her roomie from plugging any holes with untrue details.

"I don't get it, Emma." She rolled her half-empty mug between her palms.

"And you think I do? I'm still in disbelief about it all."

"I mean, do you gain anything from this?"

"Do I ever gain anything? I know that Regina didn't deserve an ounce of what I tried to do for her. God knows that she wouldn't have repaid the favor if it had been me. And I know that I should have let those two dumbasses spread that video of Regina getting toppled over by me.

"Let me tell you, everything in my head was screaming for me to just let it happen. I gave up a perfect opportunity to have that bitch knocked down a couple pegs, but I couldn't. It was like all of my instincts were overridden, and I had no choice _but_ to yell at those douche bags."

"And then Regina kicked you out?"

"Yep. And in all Mayor Mills Style too."

"I didn't know she had the power to do that..."

"She doesn't, but you should have seen the look on her face! I'm pretty sure everyone there just about wet themselves. They weren't about to say anything against her command. I considered calling you, but I was so fucking pissed that I needed to work it out of my body. So I ran."

"That was dangerous! What if you had fallen and genuinely hurt yourself?"

Emma let out a small chuckle. "I suppose Regina won't always be there to slam into and break my fall?"

"Ha. Ha. That's not funny, Em! You _just_ got out of the hospital!"

"Ugh! I know! I just... You weren't there, Mary Margaret. It was wicked intense, and I was so wound up. Running makes sense to me. It's easy, familiar and grounding. What would you have done? Wait! Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Do you think that maybe you should apologize?"

"To who?"

"To Regina."

"Oh, I thought you were gonna tell me to say sorry to those kids."

"I'd like to think that you would have the decency to do so, but they kind of had it coming," Mary Margaret admitted with a blush of guilt. "However, I do think you managed to embarrass Regina more than they did."

"Why do you care? I thought you hated her more than I do?"

"I don't _hate_ her, Emma. Strongly dislike, yes, but I don't hate Regina. Even if I did, hate shouldn't stop me from doing the right thing." She held up a hand to stem the flow of protests that were about to tumble out of Emma's mouth. "You're the sheriff, and it's your job to set an example. Go and apologize. The sooner you get it over with, the better."

"But she'll-"

"I'm sure she won't graciously accept the gesture in any way, and I'm almost positive she'll just throw it back at you and insult you. Even so, you will have done the right thing, and she can't take that from you."

"Fine," Emma snapped. "But I'm not going to do it today. I'll do it on Monday. I'll need time to come up with a plan or something."

"A plan?" The brunette raised her eyebrows at her roommate.

"Hey, this is Regina we're talking about."

"You've got a point. You might want to come up with an escape plan while you're at it."

"It's already on my agenda," the blonde said with a tone of sarcastic humor.

Emma did not apologize to Regina the following Monday. She spent all of Sunday in a nervous fit, tossing around different ways to tell the mayor the regret she felt for her actions. The fact that she still couldn't sleep, being plagued by constant nightmares, and her inability to get warm didn't help her situation either. But when the time came, she stalled. And then she stalled again. She even had her phone out, one digit away from completing Regina's number before she lost her nerve for the billionth time that day.

When Mary Margaret came home from school to find her roommate sitting at the breakfast bar nursing a glass of scotch, a deep frown etched across her face. "I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

"Nothing happened, Mar."

"She didn't respond?"

"No, I mean I didn't go, or call, or anything." Emma's face was weary, her eyes dark and focusing on something far away. It was clear to the brunette that she hadn't slept well again.

"What happened?"

"I d'know. I mean, I want to apologize and all. I know it's the right thing to do, but..."

"But?"

Emma took another sip of her drink, scrunching her face in response to the way it burned her throat. "It's _weird_, Mary Margaret. Apologizing to Regina doesn't feel right after all that we've been through and done to each other with no apologies prior."

"That's understandable, but Emma..." Mary Margaret paused, glancing down at the glass in her friend's hand. "Are you even allowed to have alcohol?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah I discontinued those meds today."

"Did you ask Dr Whale if you could start drinking immediately after? What if you have a reaction or something?"

"Calm down, Mar. Jeez, what are you, my mom?"

"I'm sorry, it's just..."

"I know, I know. You're looking out for me, and I appreciate it. I really do, but I'm not in the mood for mothering tonight."

"Didn't sleep well last night?"

"Nope," Emma said popping the 'p'. "And good ol' Jack here doesn't seem to be much help either."

"Have you talked to Whale?"

"Nah. I figure it'll pass in time."

"Emma-" But she stopped at the look the blonde shot her.

"It's not a matter of being drowsy or anything. I'm exhausted right down to my bones, and I know everyone around me can see it. It's just these damn nightmares that won't go away. Maybe if the doc could give me something for a dreamless sleep, then I'd be golden." Emma's words were bitter, but not because she was upset that there wasn't a pill for her problems, but because she felt somehow abandoned by that mystery person in her coma who always chased away the terror.

She was made to relive all of the visions that came with her coma, but why did her shrouded hero not come along as well? Where was he when she needed him? Gone, like everyone else. Every person that entered her life and managed to assuage some of her pain always left in the end. And even though she knew it was childish and silly to feel anger over the lack of her Dream Savior's presence, she couldn't fight those petulant urges that rose in her like a fire in a drought.

"Maybe you could talk to Archie about hypnosis?"

Emma shuddered visibly. "Thanks but no thanks."

"Still not over those kisses?"

"What do you think?" she asked after polishing off her drink. "I still feel gross and mildly violated, and I'm waiting to see when I get my first breakout of mouth herpes."

"Not sure anyone in town has herpes..."

"And you know this how?"

"Small town gossip, Em. Plus, I did sort of have that thing with Whale, and he liked to talk about some of the things he's seen as a doctor. Some of it was pretty nasty."

"Guess he knows how to show a girl a good time..."

"I'm a teacher, Emma. I've seen _a lot_ of less-than-savory things coming from all different orifices of my students. You get a strong stomach from that." Mary Margaret started laughing loudly at the horrified expression on the blonde's face.

"On that disgusting note of which I want zero further details, I'm gonna go do some of my stretches. I'm hoping to get back to work next week. Being stuck gimping around is driving me nuts."

"I've got papers to grade, so I'll leave you to it."

"I'll try again tomorrow."

"Try what?"

"Apologizing. I wanna do things right, and I wanna show Regina that I'm... I d'know...good? Better? That I can do the right things?"

Mary Margaret flashed Emma a warm, encouraging smile. "Of course you can, Em. You've got this."

_Meet me at Granny's for lunch? I've got something I need to say._

That was the text that Emma sent to Regina the following morning after she agonized over the short message since 6am. She had retyped the text a dozen times, deleted the message, nearly thrown her phone and clawed at her face over and over again before she decided that there was no good way of doing this. She finally opted for something brief and vague, sure to get Regina's attention.

Fifteen minutes later Emma's phone buzzed in response: _I am quite busy today, Ms Swan. As such, I do not have time for idle meals with the town's emotionally-unstable cripple. If it's really important, you can call my office and set up an appointment, which, I seem to have to constantly remind you, is standard procedure. _

"Seriously! Wow, way to go Regina. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Can't believe I'm going to be apologizing to you later today..."

_Mar, Regina called me an 'emotionally-unstable cripple' when I asked her to lunch so I could say sorry. Do I really have to apologize?_

**Yes, you do. Prove her wrong.**

_But I don't want to! She's going to be so difficult!_

**And you'll be playing right into her hands if you give in to your frustration. Now quit stalling and do what needs done. I have a class now, so good luck, and I'll see you tonight!**

"Being responsible sucks," Emma muttered to herself while she punched in the numbers for Regina's office.

"Storybrooke City Hall, this is the mayor's office, can I help you?" a girl's voice came through the speaker.

"Uh, yeah. This is Emma Swan, and I'm wondering if Regina has any openings for today? It's kinda urgent."

"Let me take a look." There was a short pause. "It would appear that Mayor Mills is booked for today. Her earliest opening isn't until Thursday. Would you like me to put you down for a time on that day?"

Emma had a strong feeling that the brunette had told her secretary not to book any meetings with the sheriff should she call. A hot bubble of anger swelled in her chest.

"Nope. Thanks for nothing. Have a great day."

_Will you please meet me for lunch? It's important._

**Ms Swan, does my being busy seem to translate in your pathetic excuse for a brain to continue to bother me? I told you earlier to confer with my receptionist.**

_Well it seems that you're conveniently booked all day. _

**I did not lie when I said I was busy.**

_And yet you have time to text me? Weird._

**Perhaps I am simply good a multi-tasking. A skill you could benefit from.**

_It doesn't matter how busy you are, even mayors need to eat. Lunch will be on me, I just really need to say something, and it's important. _

Emma sat waiting for a response for over fifteen minutes. She sulked at the table, just staring at her screen and fidgeting with her fingernails. Her phone buzzed.

**You will meet me at 12:30 ****_sharp_****. You will have fifteen minutes not a second more. **

_I'll be there._

Emma sat at one of the booths, more than ten minutes early. She figured the best way to start off was to show Regina that she _could_ be punctual - even if she didn't care too much for it. She stared out the window, he weary features pinched with anxiety. Under normal circumstances, this would be nothing more than a minor nuisance, but she couldn't quite place where all of her jitters were coming from.

She swirled her finger absentmindedly through her ice water, mildly aware of the fact that her own skin was so cold that it barely registered a temperature difference in the water. She jumped a little every time she saw a dark car drive by, expecting it to be Regina's Mercedes.

She glanced down at the time on her phone for the hundredth time. It read 12:25. Her eyes slid back up to the window, and Emma felt her heart jump to her throat when she saw the mayor's car pulling into a spot on the side of the road. She felt the tiniest of smiles pull one corner of her mouth. Of course Regina would be precisely five minutes early.

The blonde spied the slightest of limps in the mayor's gait, and she found herself wondering once again what had happened to her. She was almost positive that that limp had not been present prior to her stay in the hospital, so what happened?

The bell over the door tinkled merrily when Regina casually strode in, and Emma's lips curled into another small smile when she saw the older woman pause almost imperceptibly, clearly thrown by the fact that she was already there.

"Ms Swan, so nice to see you on time for once in your life."

"Nice to see you too, Regina."

Ruby slid up to their table. "Anything I can get you ladies? Coffee?"

"No, thank you," the brunette responded curtly.

"How about you, Em? Bear claw? Slice of apple pie? It's still hot."

"Urgh, no, Rubes. Don't mention apples around me... I might puke."

Ruby looked at the blonde strangely. "Er, okay. Holler if you need me."

"Why the sudden aversion to apples?" Regina blurted before she could stop herself.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I remember liking them before my stupid coma, and then I wake up and now the very thought of them makes me sick. So, let's change the subject."

"Indeed. You said you had something important to tell me?"

"Yes, I suppose I did." Emma licked her lips nervously, while she swirled the ice cubes around her glass once more.

"Ms Swan, I gave you fifteen minutes. You're down to eleven."

Emma cleared her throat. "Right. Listen, I uh... I just wanted to say..." She faltered, tripping over words that weren't coming.

"Your eloquence is astonishing."

"You're not helping!" Emma snapped back. "I wanted to apologize." The sheriff watched the slow ascent of Regina's eyebrows into her hairline. "I know, this is equally painful for me as well, okay? I wanted to apologize for my behavior on Saturday. It was uncalled for and really inappropriate. I'm sorry. For embarrassing you and stuff."

Regina's eyes narrowed at the woman across from her. "Is that all you wanted, Ms Swan? To apologize?"

"Yeah, what a crazy concept. I'm not looking for anything, or trying to play some trick. What I did was bad, and now I'm trying to make up for it."

A strange expression passed over the mayor's face, as though she was perplexed by the idea of an unsolicited apology. Emma continued to play with her ice. "Thank you," Regina said in the smallest of voices.

Emma's jaw practically hit the floor. "Uh... You're welcome?"

"Have you found a solution to your sleeping problem?" the brunette asked almost gently.

"No. Still got a head full of nightmares, and no Dream Savior to speak of."

"Dream Savior?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a long story, and you're busy. Why does it matter to you anyway?"

"I never said it mattered. However, Mr Nolan is only acting sheriff. Regrettably, you will need to be back at the station to do your job. You need to be healthy for that."

"Right. Well, I should be back to work on Monday."

"Indeed. Thank you, Ms Swan for the apology. I have to get back to City Hall. Enjoy treating your finger for frostbite." She gestured briefly at the digit on Emma's left hand that remained submerged in her water throughout their exchange. Without another word, Regina swept away, not glancing back at the frowning woman she left at the booth.

"Okay, so even from a distance, that looked painful to watch."

"Good to know, Rubes."

"What were you guys talking about? You looked like you were going to puke all over her."

The image of Regina's exasperate face as her expensive clothes became doused in vomit tugged at the corners of Emma's mouth. "Can you imagine the way she'd scream if I did?"

"I'm pretty sure all of the windows would break."

"But she raised Henry. You think she'd be used to a little puke. And I'm sure with the reign of terror she's got going on in City Hall, that she's made more than one intern lose their lunch from fear alone."

"Yeah, but anything that comes out of Henry is excusable _because_ it's Henry. You, on the other hand..."

"I'd be spraying my cooties all over her."

Ruby lapsed into a fit of giggles. "Really, Emma? Cooties?"

"Yeah, everyone's got 'em!"

The waitress immediately held out her forearm, tracing two circles and a dot in the center of each while chanting the sacred mantra of the cootie shot. "I'm cootie-free, Emma!"

"Great, why couldn't _you_ have played tonsil-hockey with me while I was in my coma?"

A flush dark enough to match Ruby's namesake spread across her cheeks in roughly two seconds.

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Oh my God! You kissed me!"

"Augh! No, I did _not_ kiss you! Henry only let dudes kiss you anyway."

"Well, True Love's Kiss didn't work on me. Go figure, right?"

The flush on the waitress' cheeks deepened further. "Yeah, go figure," she echoed nervously. "I gotta go clean...something. Later, Em!"

The young woman scampered off, leaving Emma feeling undeniably confused about what they just talked about - rather, what did not get said. But the blonde was exhausted, and she was done pushing for the day. She got the apology off of her chest, and a bizarre show of subtle concern from the mayor in response. There was no point in prying any more into something that was clearly more complex than it looked.

**As always, you can find me on Tumblr at writers-dilemma. tumblr. com**


	21. The Truth

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: This chapter gets pretty violent for this fic. If you cannot handle physical assault, please skip this chapter! It's about to get pretty heavy between our leading ladies, so buckle up and hold on tight. Also, thanks to Jasmine for being my lovely Beta on this chapter. You can find her here: obligatory-regal-name. tumblr. com She makes all of my Swan Queen better!**

Early Thursday morning had a sleepless Emma in a searing hot shower. She was certain that she would come out of it with second-degree burns, but the severe temperature that she now bathed in were the only moments when she felt as though she had finally returned to the 98.6 that her body was supposed to be at.

Emma was finishing up rinsing out her long curls, humming tunelessly to herself when an errant clump of suds slid down her forehead and right into her eye. The blonde cursed loudly, clutching at her face. In her attempt to jerk away from the stream of water, she felt her leg tremble, then give out. A strangled yell slipped from her lips before her head collided heavily with the edge of the tub. All of her senses went dark.

Mary Margaret was standing at the kitchen table, rifling through all of her papers and books to make sure that she had everything she needed before heading off to the school. She found, since Emma moving into her tiny abode, that it was both a blessing and a curse that one could hear almost everything that happened inside the little apartment. On that Thursday morning, it happened to be a blessing.

She heard a string of muffled curses coming from the upstairs bathroom. Soap in the eyes seemed to be a regular occurrence for her roommate, so the brunette thought nothing of it. However, the profanity was immediately followed by a deep, clattering thud and then deafening silence.

The teacher stood frozen, waiting for any further sounds, and when none were forthcoming, she sprang into action, leaping up the stairs two at a time. She rapped her knuckles sharply against the bathroom door. "Emma? Emma, are you okay?" Her only response was the gushing sound of the showerhead. She knocked louder, hoping for some sort of indicator that her roommate wasn't injured.

When her efforts bore no fruit, Mary Margaret barged into the bathroom, squinting through the heavy steam billowing around her. She zeroed in on the tub, and saw an unmoving arm slung over the edge, connected to an equally motionless, naked blonde.

She gasped, flinging herself to Emma's side, shutting off the water, breathing a momentary sigh of relief when she saw that the woman hadn't landed face-down in the two inches of blistering water. With one hand, she yanked down the nearest towel, draping it over Emma's bare body. She could see the steady rise and fall of her chest, eliciting another brief sigh of relief. She wasn't dead.

There was no blood, but Mary Margaret saw the angry, purplish contusion rapidly stretching itself out underneath the sheriff's skin on her forehead near her left temple. She wanted to move the injured woman, but she remembered what she had learned in her first aid training for school; any attempt to move the victim of a head or neck injury could result in further or even life-threatening damage.

She pulled a hand towel from the cupboard under the sink, soaking it with icy water. She'd get ice once Emma was awake. Moving sodden strands gently from the unconscious woman's forehead, the brunette gently pressed the cool cloth to the ugly blemish on her face.

Mary Margaret continued her tender ministrations until a deep, drawn-out groan was expelled from Emma's throat. She jumped, dropping the cloth with a soft _splat_ right across her roommate's face. She snatched it up, blushing furiously. The blonde groaned again.

"Emma? Can you hear me? Try not to move too quickly. You took a nasty fall, and I don't know if you're hurt."

"Mar..."

"Do I need to call the hospital?"

"Dun...know. Can't...catch...a break." Emma slowly shifted so that she was stretched out in the tub, with her head propped up on the end; the brunette quickly stuffed the hand towel under Emma's head while simultaneously keeping the big towel over her shaky body.

"Did you break anything?"

"Nah... Broken bones hurt...more." She kept her green eyes pressed shut, vainly hoping that the simple action would help quell the pounding in her skull.

"You're going to have a big bruise from where you hit your head on the tub. I bet I could make it look better with some cover-up and-"

Emma suddenly leant over the edge of the basin, her meager breakfast coming back up again.

"I think I need to call Whale. You could have a concussion. Let me get-"

"Mar," came the deep growl of the sheriff.

"Mm?"

Emma fixed her roommate with a look of hatred and betrayal. It turned the brunette's blood to ice. "I remember."

"You do?" Her voice sounded faint, unable to tear her eyes from the gaze that now resembled a feral beast.

"I remember _everything_, Mary Margaret. And I know you weren't there, but I also know that you _knew_ what happened anyway." The blonde's words were unnervingly calm, but never without the vicious accusation that colored every syllable.

"I... You weren't... What was I supposed to say?" Her feeble excuse was met with a firm, wet slap across the face that sent her toppling to the side. "You fucking knew! And you didn't even tell me!" her voice was rising, echoing in the small room.

"Emma! I'm sorry, but it's clearly not a simple subject-"

"Get out. _Now._"

"Emma, you just need to relax. You've just been hurt, and you're not thinking right." The words rushed out, trying to be gentle and placating, but they ended up sounding small and frightened.

"It would be in your best interest to leave before I decide to do more than slap you, you _cunt_." The words came out with such venomous force that all Mary Margaret could do was squeak in terror while she scrambled out of the room, the resounding slamming of the front door meeting Emma's ears shortly after.

The blonde retched again, re-emptying her already-vacant stomach. All of the images, every word, every sound, every memory slammed against her like a giant sack of cinder blocks laced with rusty nails. She remembered trying to leave Storybrooke, and she remembered the sound of Henry's distressed pleading. She remembered him warning her that the turnover given to her by Regina was poisoned, and she remembered the bite she took, followed by blackness.

_Given to her by Regina._

_Regina._

Emma slipped while flying out of the bathtub, not even bothering to dry herself off as she slammed her body into the first clothing items her trembling fingers came into contact with. Once she was dressed, boots on, red leather armor over her shoulders, Emma snatched up her gun, fixing it to her hip. She sprinted from the apartment to her yellow bug. She didn't notice her petrified roommate watch her tear out of the building, and she definitely didn't hear the gasp of horror when Mary Margaret saw the gun at her side.

Emma pealed out of the parking lot, wishing she could blare the lights and sirens of her police cruiser that she didn't have on her way to City Hall where she knew the mayor would be. She blasted through several stop signs, nearly bowling over several pedestrians and narrowly avoiding a collision at one of the intersections, but she didn't give a flying fuck. She had a pressing appointment with Mayor Mills.

Her boots echoed tightly in the halls as she thundered down the familiar path to Regina's spacious office. She blatantly ignored the alarmed warnings of the secretary as Emma physically skidded to a halt outside the double doors. One look shut the gibbering girl up.

With more control than she thought possible, Emma quietly opened the door, slipping in, keeping her back to the large desk occupying the focus of the room. She heard the scraping of chair legs against the marble floor when she deftly threw the lock in place.

"Ms Swan-" Regina started in an irritated huff, but when her intruder turned to finally face her, a gasp tumbled from perfect red lips. She saw Emma Swan, hair a ratty mess, with an enormous, purple swelling on her forehead glaring at her with such ferocity Regina was sure that the room might combust around them.

Before another sound could escape her lips, she felt the iron fist of an enraged sheriff plow solidly into the left side of her jaw. White-hot pain filled the area as she was thrown off balance, her neck cricking painfully from the impact. Regina didn't have a chance to straighten up from the first punch before a second one buried itself deep into her gut, doubling her over, knocking the wind from her lungs.

Regina's instincts kicked on like a light, and when she sensed another impact heading her way, she clumsily blocked it, then pushed the blonde away from her as hard as she could, still panting heavily from the blow to her stomach.

Emma had slammed roughly into Regina's desk, moving the heavy thing an inch or two. She leant over it, growling with fury, trying to catch her breath for a moment. She spied a gleaming, ripe, red apple sitting innocently beside a tray of paperwork. Blinding rage renewed within her gut when she saw the fruit that nearly murdered her just resting before her eyes.

She could hear the mayor coming closer to try and attack her with her back turned. Emma's fingers wrapped tightly around the apple, and she spun around, slamming her new bludgeon against the side of Regina's head. A severe, mirthless grin spread across her features when she heard the sharp, guttural scream echo around the office as the firm flesh of the fruit split against her skull.

Emma could hear shouting outside the office. Regina was screaming at her from the floor, but no sound seemed to register in her brain. Instead, her fists curled around the lapels of the mayor's blood-stained blazer, and she hauled her off the ground, forcefully slamming her target into the wall. Another smirk appeared when she heard the breath wheeze from between parted lips. Regina's head bounced painfully off of the wall.

Emma's fingers found purchase around the mayor's thin throat. "YOU'RE A FUCKING PSYCHOTIC LUNATIC! I REMEMBER EVERYTHING, REGINA! YOU TRIED TO FUCKING _KILL_ ME, YOU MURDEROUS ASSHOLE! FOR WHAT?! FOR HENRY?" Regina's face was turning a deep shade of red, while she spluttered, trying to suck in any ounce of air she could fine, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth and from under her hair. Her hands clawed at Emma's face, leaving long, sanguine scratches down an ugly mask of unbridled fury.

"IF YOU THOUGHT HE HATED YOU BEFORE, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK HE'D _EVER_ FORGIVE YOU FOR KILLNG ME? HUH? _YOU'RE FUCKING EVIL, REGINA. AND THIS TIME, EVIL NEEDS TO __**DIE**__!_"

The doors behind her smashed open, David bursting through along with several volunteer deputies in tow. He had his gun out, but all of his bravado and command fell when he saw someone who was supposed to be Emma Swan forcefully strangling a bloodied mayor.

Emma's head swung around, her green eyes blazing without an ounce of compassion, not even flinching at the weapon trained on her. A drop of blood fell from the edge of her chin. That same wicked grin tore across her twisted face. Regina continued to sputter in her iron grip.

"Emma Swan, you are under arrest for aggravated assault and attempted murder. If you do not stand down, I am authorized to use lethal force." His voice was loud, but every single person heard the evident waver, completely undermining any threat he may have tried to hold against the blonde.

"You don't have the guts, _Sheriff_." Her eyes flitted down to the piece shaking in his clammy hands. She snorted in triumph. "You're just a fucking pussy, and everyone can see it."

She heard a gargling cough from behind her, and turned her head to look at the purple-faced mayor, seeing her brown eyes rolling into the back of her skull. Henry's face blasted through her roiling rage, suddenly realizing that she was minutes away from committing an act she herself had moments before berated the brunette for. Her stiff fingers loosened slightly, and she heard her victim take as much extra air as she physically could.

Emma Swan was many things, but she was not a murderer. Her grip loosened a little more. Regina's eyes locked onto hers, and she saw raw fear in a face that had never before betrayed anything beyond haughty superiority. It made Emma feel sick to her stomach. She pulled the mayor close to her face; they were barely an inch apart, and Emma could feel flecks of spittle hitting her cheeks while Regina still struggled for breath.

"_Your move, Madame Mayor,_" she whispered evenly into the woman's mouth. She threw the brunette to the ground, spitting on her for her final touch of humiliation. Without another word, the blonde ran. She blasted past the stunned David, and all of the onlookers that were left scared shitless. She blew by every paramedic, every employee of the City Hall, every pedestrian, and she blew by a teary Mary Margaret.

Emma slammed into her bug, tearing away from the scene, horrific calm brought on by shock being the only thing keeping her from regurgitating everything within her body all over herself and her car. She was panting heavily, feeling a tingly-numbness in all of her fingers and toes, and madly blinking blood from her eyes.

She couldn't go back to the apartment, and she couldn't exactly stay at Granny's without her presence being discovered. She couldn't leave Storybrooke; that would only make things worse for everyone. Especially Henry. But she needed to get away. If she had a tent, she could crash in the woods for a few days. However, Emma did not own a tent.

But the woods seemed like they held the most promise. When she thought about it a moment longer, the memory of a tiny cabin tucked away in the forest where Mr Gold brought Moe to do some homegrown interrogation swam into her view. She was sure it didn't have power, or heat, but she had roughed it with less in her glory days. It seemed like the best place for her to hide out while she could try to wrestle the typhoon of hatred, violence, betrayal, disgust and anguish into submission.

She jerked the wheel of the bug, directing herself toward the dirt roads that wove like the paths of a labyrinth into the murky depths of the Maine forest. The farther she drove from town, the more surreal Emma's situation became, and she genuinely couldn't tell if she was trapped in another one of her nightmares, or if reality had indeed decided to take a huge dump on her. The former seemed more appealing, so she stuck to the misty hopes that she would wake up before the shit really hit the fan.

**Don't worry, guys! It has to get worse before it can get better! You can always find me on Tumblr at writers-dilemma. tumblr. com I promise that I don't bite! Come say hi! I would also like to extend the offer to write a one-shot for whomever is the 200th reviewer on this fic! I love each and every one of you for your support and encouragement. If I could, I'd give you all squishy huggles!  
**


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